Kept
by UltravioletPinkRanger
Summary: Hermione is captured by Death Eaters and brought to Malfoy Manor. Voldemort's minions only planned to use her for their own entertainment, but he has other ideas in mind...
1. A Wedding to Remember

"You look beautiful Fleur," Hermione told the nervous French girl who was currently scrutinizing herself in front of her full length mirror.

"Thank you 'Ermione," she replied with a little catch in her voice. She continued to analyze herself as Hermione placed the tiara the Weasley's great aunt Muriel had lent for the day's special occasion. It was August 1, 1997 and Bill and Fleur's wedding day. Everyone was in a hustle to get everything perfect and ready for all the guests that would be arriving in less than an hour. Hermione, Ginny, and Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle were currently cooped up in Ginny's room, which had been turned into the bridal room for the day, helping the bride get ready for her journey down the aisle.

"Am I zupposed to be zees nervous?" Fleur asked the two girls, her eyes wide. "I veel like zer are butterflies all over my stomache!"

"We wouldn't know," Ginny laughed at her future sister in-law. "We've never been married,"

"Can zomeone tie my bow for moi?" Gabrielle asked politely. Ginny answered her request and went over to help the young girl.

"Don't worry Fleur," Hermione reassured, rubbing Fleur's shoulders. "My cousin Leah was just like this when she was about to get married. It's just pre-wedding jitters. It's a big day, you're about to start the rest of your life with the man you love. I'd be nervous, too,"

"Now don't get any ideas of leaving my brother at the altar, okay?" Ginny joked, but with a serious tone.

"I won't," Fleur took one of Hermione's hands in hers and did the same with Ginny, giving them both a squeeze. "Thank you," she smiled. "'Ow much time do we have left?"

"Half an hour," Hermione answered, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to go down and check on how things are coming along. Ginny, you stay here and make sure her make-up stays perfect,"

"Ay ay Captain," Ginny mock saluted as Hermione left the room.

Hermione made her way down the levels of stairs the Burrow had and in a matter of minutes found herself on the ground landing. It was quiet inside the house due to everyone working outside, where the wedding would be taking place.

"You look nice,"

Hermione jumped at the sound of Ron's voice coming from the door at the other side of the room. "Ronald, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry. You know, you should wear red more often," he complimented her dress. Fleur had decided to honor the Gryffindor spirit of the Weasley's and make one of her wedding colors red. Since Hermione had been chosen as one of her bridesmaids, along with Ginny, the dress she wore was solid in the color. Hermione had to admit that she was really fond of the garment. It was made of satin, scoop necked, had an empire-waist, thick straps, and ended just above her knees. She'd definitely wear it again.

"Thank you," Hermione blushed. She wasn't used to getting this sort of attention from him, although she'd been waiting for it for the past three years now. Thankfully his philandering with Lavender Brown phase was over, which meant maybe, just maybe, something could happen for Hermione. The way his eyes wouldn't leave her certainly hinted at something on the horizon. "Is everything almost ready?" she asked coyly, remembering why she was down there in the first place.

"Yeah, people are already getting seated. The Minister of Magic is here actually, Rufus Scrimgeour. Don't know why though-"

"Ahem,"

Hermione and Ron turned toward the sound of the cough that had just been emitted and found Minister Scrimgeour standing only a few feet away from them with Harry next to him.

"I was hoping I could talk to the three of you before the festivities began," he said, motioning them toward the couch. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all took a seat and listened to the Minister, unprepared for what he was about to tell them.

"Aren't you glad you stayed now Harry?" Ron said as he opened and closed the "lighter" Dumbledore had left for him. The Minister had just left, leaving the three of them to contemplate what he had just given them on behalf of their former Headmaster.

"Yes, because these things have so much meaning to them. They will definitely be helpful in our search- a lighter, a snitch, and a fairytale book," Harry said with sarcasm.

"I'm sure there's a very logical reason why Dumbledore decided to give these to us," Hermione put in, not wanting to offend Dumbledore, even if he wasn't with them anymore. "Besides, has he ever given us a direct answer? We have to figure this out, just like everything else,"

Harry gave a huff and put the snitch in his pocket. "Like we don't have anything else to figure out at the moment."

Mr. Weasley then appeared at the door, frantic with anticipation, and ushered the boys to get to their seats. Hermione told them she'd see them soon and went upstairs to fetch the bride.

"It's time," she announced to Fleur, who was sitting on the bed next to Ginny with a glowing smile on her face. Fleur shot off the bed and grabbed her bouquet from Ginny, and then she took one final look into the mirror. She took a deep breath and then followed Ginny out the door.

Hermione took a moment to put her new book inside her bag of limitless space. She, Harry, and Ron, would be leaving soon so she had it prepared. She shrunk it down and hid it in the hem of her dress. If anything happened and they had to leave at any point during the celebration at least she'd have it with her.

She hurried down the stairs and met Ginny and Fleur at the bottom. The music had already begun playing, signaling for them to come out when they were ready.

"You first, Hermione," Ginny instructed, handing her friend a small bouquet of white roses. Hermione nodded and then stepped outside. Everyone watched as she made her way down the aisle, and Hermione smiled as she caught sight of all the friends and family that had come to witness Bill and Fleur's marriage. She made it to the front of the aisle and stood to the side as Ginny came up. The music then changed and everyone else stood up as Fleur stepped gracefully into their midst, her arm wrapped around her father's and Gabrielle holding up the train of the wedding gown. The music stopped once Fleur reached the altar, and her father handed her to Bill after placing a kiss on her forehead. In a matter of minutes Bill and Fleur were married, and then the party began.

Hermione laughed and cheered as everyone around her danced, talked, and had a good time. Not being one much for dancing, she was sitting at a table by herself, contentedly sipping her drink. She spotted Luna Lovegood dancing with her father, and Bill dancing with Mrs. Weasley, while Mr. Weasley was dancing with Ginny. Seeing them brought a sudden wave of sadness to her as she remembered what she had had to do to her parents just a few weeks ago. She hoped they were happy in Australia living their new life. Maybe one day she'd see them again. She couldn't deny that she missed them.

Lost in her thoughts, she was surprised when she felt someone's hand wrap around hers and lift her out of her seat. "Dance with me," Harry said, pulling her into the throng of people already dancing. Hermione let out a laugh and allowed him to lead her around. She decided dancing wasn't so bad when you had someone to do it with.

"My turn," Ron intervened, taking Hermione from Harry's grasp. Harry let out a chuckle and then finding Ginny began to dance with her.

"How did you like the wizard wedding?" Ron asked Hermione as he began to sway her to the music. Hermione was sure she was blushing from being in such close contact with him. Her body suddenly felt like Jello in his arms and she wished they could just dance together forever.

"Definitely shorter than some muggle ones," she answered him. "I do enjoy the added spectacle wizards bring, too,"

"The joys of having magic Hermione," Ron grinned pulling her closer to him. They were so close to each other all Hermione had to do was get up on her tippy toes and their lips would touch. The moment was lost however, for the song ended and Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time for the cake. Ron reluctantly let Hermione go and they went to watch Bill and Fleur cut their cake together.

Everyone cheered as the newlyweds each fed each other a piece. Then somewhere at the back of the crowd they heard a scream.

"What the-?" Harry said as he looked around with the rest of the group. Hermione was the first to see it and she pointed up in the sky with a gasp. Death Eaters were flying in from all directions and some had already invaded the party area.

"Congratulations!" One of them yelled menacingly as he shots spells at whoever he could. Guests screamed as jets of blue, black, red, green, and other colors shot passed them. Some were levitated into the air and twirled for the delight of the masked men, whose monstrous laughter was mingling with the shouts of the crowd. It was the Quidditch World Cup all over again.

Chaos ensued as people tried to run to safety, while the aurors present fought back. Somehow Hermione had become separated from her friends, and she struggled through the panicking people to find them.

"Harry?" she called, hoping he would answer.

"Hermione!" she heard his voice somewhere to her left. Turning in its direction she found him and ran over as he reached his hand out to grab her.

"Come on!" he said as he pushed his way through the people in front of him, trying to remain hidden. He knew the Death Eaters were there for him.

"Where's Ron?"

"I'm here!" Ron yelled, and the three of them ran towards each other. They all knew it was time for them to leave.

"AARGH!" Hermione shrieked as she felt a pair of arms clasp around her from behind, ripping her out of Harry's grasp.

"Got you now Mudblood," a husky voice hissed in her ear, causing a chill to run up and down her spine. She didn't even manage to scream as the familiar pull of apparition began to take over her. She just looked at Harry and Ron with wide, fearful eyes as she popped away from them. The last things she heard were them screaming her name as Ron thrust out his arm to grab her.

A second later she hit cold ground with a thud. And then the laughter started.


	2. A Very Long Time

Hermione had never abhorred the sound of laughter more in her life. It surrounded her from all sides, like a chrysalis for an evolving caterpillar, but instead of invoking a feeling of safety and protection, she felt vulnerable and exposed. It was loud and gleeful, and full of derision. She wanted it to stop.

"Well, look who we have here," a man spoke through the unrestrained cackles. "Potter's sidekick number two. If you ask me though you're much more valuable that that redheaded blood traitor,"

Hermione suddenly felt her body involuntarily jerk off the ground. She was lifted up so that she was standing up straight and hovering just a few centimeters above the floor. She didn't dare open her eyes to see what was in front of her. She kept them as tightly shut as she could, because maybe if she blinked down hard enough those she knew were around her would go away.

"Afraid to look at us you filthy Mudblood?" another voice snickered, male once again. "We can fix that. _Aperire!_"

Hermione's eyes instantly shot open, forcing them to see. She wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth no sound came out. There were twenty or so Death Eaters circled around her, clad in their deep black robes, and donning their frightful masks. They burst out in a unified chorus of guffaws.

"Having a difficult time screaming?" the Death Eater who had been playing with her asked. "Don't worry, it'll be better that way,"

He then flipped Hermione upside down with a wave of his wand. Hermione was grateful she still had the limited use of her arms as she struggled to keep the skirt of her dress over her bare legs. She could feel the blood rushing its way to the peak of her head, causing a throbbing sensation to start, and her vision to blur. There was also a lump in her throat that was steadily growing as she tried not to cry.

She let out an unheard "Oof!" as she was quickly dropped to the floor. She groaned as the pain of the impact coursed through her body. Hermione was helpless as she lay still on the cold ground, and could do nothing but breathe in and out, and wait for their next move.

"Now, now, Rowle, that's no way to treat our guest," a woman's voice said too sweetly to imply any sort of kindness, and fear flooded Hermione's heart as she recognized the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange. "After all," she continued, "She is Harry Potter's friend. She deserves the best. _Crucio!_"

Hermione had never experienced such pain in her life. It was as if her body was being ripped apart, and contorting in all the wrong ways at the same time. She was sure she was shrieking- the feeling was too excruciating for her not to be. She could hear the echoes of howling laughter around her, most notably her torturer's.

"Feel good, Mudblood?" Bellatrix squealed with enthusiasm. "It gets even better than this," she smiled menacingly, as she began to raise her wand once again.

_So this is the end, _Hermione thought. She wondered why her life wasn't flashing before her eyes, when she decided that that probably didn't really happen- at least not in all cases. What she did think of was Harry and Ron, and her parents, and Ginny, and everyone she had ever cared about in her life. She thought of her unborn children and all the opportunities she wouldn't get to have. Her life had been short, but at least she had gotten to live.

She closed her eyes and allowed the tears to silently fall as Bellatrix began to utter the final words Hermione would ever hear.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Hermione could see the flash of green through her eyelids, and welcomed the spell to hit her.

It never came.

"Who deflected my curse!" Bellatrix angrily yelled.

"I did," Hermione heard someone hiss, and suddenly the air was filled with complete silence. A chill ran down her spine as she thought of only one person who could have such an effect on people.

Voldemort.

"My Lord," The Death Eaters began to stammer. From her position on the floor Hermione could see their feet step to the side as they allowed Voldemort to pass though. He was next to her in a matter of moments.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor Miss Granger. I apologize for the hasty actions of my loyal subjects. I assure you it will not happen again," he drawled. "Draco!"

There was the quiet shuffling of footsteps as another pair of feet appeared next to Voldemort's.

"Take her to her room,"

Hermione felt herself being levitated up again, but she was promptly returned to the ground when Voldemort said sternly, "Carry her boy,"

A pair of arms was suddenly under her, and she was being carelessly cradled away by none other than Draco Malfoy.

If it had been any other situation she would've fled out of his hold the moment he touched her, but at the moment Hermione had no choice but to let him carry her. She felt weak, and defenseless, and wasn't sure if she would rather be alive or dead. She knew without checking that she didn't have her wand, which meant she was powerless. It didn't matter that she was a witch anymore; all she was at that point was human.

It felt like forever that Draco was walking. Hermione knew they had gone up a couple flights of stairs and down some decent length hallways, and she wondered just how big Malfoy Manor was. Draco didn't say a word to her as he made his way to "her room" and Hermione preferred it that way. After the heartless chuckling of the Death Eater's, silence was all Hermione wanted. It was what she was getting, with the exception of the steady beating of Draco's heart. _He actually has one, _Hermione joked to herself spiritlessly.

She felt one of his hands leave her and the sound of a door opening enter her ears. The room they walked into was dark, with the only light coming through being that of the hallway they were just in. He set her on the bed that was in the room as gently as he could, sitting her up against the head board.

"You'll be staying here," he said flatly. "The bathroom's through that door on your right, and there's clothing for you in the closet,"

Hermione was confused as to why she had her own room and her own things to use, but she was too overwhelmed about everything to make her questions known. All she wanted to do was lie down and possibly die in her sleep.

Draco sat next to her on the bed with a cloth in his hand. "You're bleeding Granger, and I'm no good with healing spells," he said as he began to lift the cloth to the top of her head. Hermione instinctively slapped it away. He may have brought her there, but that didn't mean he could touch her whenever he pleased. In fact, she didn't want anyone ever touching her again, at least not anyone in this place.

Draco ignored her action and tried again, to which Hermione angrily swatted him away like before. The next time he anticipated her action and caught her hand with his other so she couldn't get to him. He almost had the cloth to her face when the palm he currently didn't have in his grasp meet his left cheek.

Draco furiously got off the bed and then flung the cloth at Hermione in irritation. "Fine!" he snarled in defeat. "Do it yourself, Mudblood." He stalked out of the room without a second glance.

Hermione crumpled into the bed, bringing her knees to her chest, and began to sob uncontrollably. In the past hour she had gone from celebrating a wedding with her friends to being captured and tortured by the worst people in the world.

And she was completely alone.

When Hermione woke up the next morning she didn't open her eyes right away. With what consciousness she regained she hoped beyond hope that she would find herself in the burrow, lying on a bed next to Ginny. She'd get up and go downstairs to find the Weasley's and Harry sitting at the table ready to eat breakfast. Ron would tell her "Good morning sunshine," like he always did and then gesture for her to take the seat next to him. They'd talk about how amazing the wedding had been, and then discuss their plans of laziness for the rest of the day.

Yes, that's exactly what would happen.

Hermione opened her heavy eyes, and felt the tears start to spring up again as she took sight of the dark and unfamiliar room around her. She definitely wasn't at the burrow.

There was a window to the left of the bed, but no light was coming from it, letting Hermione know that it was still early in the morning, or even possibly late at night. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping. She walked up to the window and looked out. There was the dim light of the sun peeking over the horizon, signaling the dawn. As the light slowly grew brighter she noticed that there were hills in the distance and a vast expanse of land. Wherever Malfoy manor was it sure had a nice landscape.

Hermione sighed and went into the bathroom Draco had pointed out the night before. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and groaned as she ran her hands over her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked pale. Her mascara was streaked over her face from where her tears had carried it away, and her hair was a tangled mess. She turned away from her reflection, not wanting to see it anymore.

She brushed her teeth with a toothbrush she had found with her name personalized on it. She knew she probably shouldn't trust any objects in the vicinity, but at that moment she could've cared less if they were tampered with. Besides, they could've killed her last night if they wanted to, and it would've been much more dramatic than a poisoned toothbrush.

Her mouth taken care of, Hermione brought her attention to the shower behind her and stripped down out of her bridesmaid dress before turning it on. The steam worked in calming Hermione's nerves, and as the hot water rushed over her, she momentarily forgot where she was. It didn't last long however, and she quickly began to scrub her body down. Her tears mingled with the water falling on her face, as she slid down to the bottom of the tub and just sat there.

Fifteen minutes later and the water had lost its warmth, taking with it its comfort. She shut the shower off and continued to sit as the hot air dissipated and a cold chill settled over her body. She closed her eyes and willed her mind to take her away somewhere other than there.

Not a moment later her eyes shot open as the feel of a towel pressed on her body. A female house elf was leaning over the edge of the tub, covering her with it.

"Up miss, up!" the house elf beckoned sweetly. "Master Draco is waiting for you!"

_Wonder what he could want,_ Hermione thought as she reluctantly got up and wrapped the towel around her damp skin. She wanted to take her sweet time getting out of the bathroom, but the small elf's hands were already on Hermione's back and ushering her out.

"I is Izzie Miss, and I will be helping take care of you," the house elf finally introduced herself as she pushed on Hermione's back.

Hermione jumped back in surprise and clung her towel closer to her as she saw Draco standing by the window and looking out. He turned to her, quickly surveyed her appearance, and then scoffed. "Hurry up and get dressed Granger, the Dark Lord wants to have a word with you,"

Hermione's stomach fell at his words. She had been hoping she'd get to remain a prisoner in her room and not have to meet anyone. She should've known better that Voldemort would have other plans for her.

She watched as Izzie rummaged through the closet to find clothes for her. She pulled out a purple sundress with a black sash and handed it to Hermione. "This will look lovely on you Miss," the house elf beamed before returning to look for shoes.

Hermione laid the dress down on the bed, but made no move to change as she waited for Draco to leave. There was no way she was getting dressed in front of him.

"Is something the matter Miss?" Izzie asked as she placed black ballet flats at Hermione's feet.

"I'm not leaving Granger," Draco said, knowing full well why she wasn't changing. "We have some things to go over before breakfast and since we're pressed on time I can't wait for you to be ready to tell you. You don't have to worry about me looking at you, I'll just keep staring out the window. Besides, there's nothing appealing about your body that would make me want to peek anyways. Just let me know when you're done,"

Hermione rolled her eyes and then began to put on her clothes, making sure Draco wasn't watching as she did so.

"First of all," he began, "Don't get any ideas about leaving, you won't get very far. You're going to be here for a very long time Granger, the details of which the Dark Lord will fill you in on after breakfast, so you might want to get used to the idea of living here. In case you haven't guessed already, I'm in charge of you. This means you do what I say, no if, ands, or buts about it. You will speak only when directed to. You will go only where you are allowed. When I say no, it doesn't mean yes. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Hermione growled as Izzie finished tying her bow, only no sound came out. She had forgotten that she still had the silencing spell on her.

"I'm giving you permission to answer me Granger," Draco drawled. Hermione had no choice but to go up to him and turn him around. He jumped at her unexpected touch. "Geez Granger, a simple yes would've sufficed!"

It was the first time Hermione actually got a good look at him. His platinum blonde hair was still impeccably perfect, but his face looked paler than she remembered. His eyes were grey, like a storm over the ocean, and looked as if they had seen too much. His face had lost most of its boyish youth, instead steadily transforming into the face of a man. Hermione wasn't sure she liked this grown Malfoy. He was undeniably attractive.

Hermione realized she had been staring a little too long at his features when he arched his eyebrow at her. She quickly glared at him and then mouthed, "I can't talk,"

Draco gave a small snicker before lifting the spell. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," Hermione replied harshly, though her voice was soft and hoarse. "And yes to your little tirade too,"

"Good. Izzie's your personal house elf and she'll get you whatever you need. Just call for her and she'll come," Draco continued. "Are you ready then?"

Hermione gave a curt nod as Izzie finished drying her hair with a wand, and she put on the ballet flats she had been given. Taking a deep breath she followed Draco out of the room.

It was possibly the longest walk of Hermione's life. Since she didn't know where she was going she trailed Draco like a lost lamb following its shepherd. They were making their way down an extremely long hallway that had black marble flooring and dull powder blue walls. On either side were portraits of paintings, of which the occupants decided to stalk Hermione with their eyes as she and Draco passed. She could hear them murmuring, but it wasn't clear what was being said, and she was sure it was better that she didn't know.

At the end of the eternal hall was a staircase which they took two flights down before reaching what she assumed was the ground level since no other stairs followed it. They were walking toward two grand mahogany doors, and Hermione could hear voices coming from the other side. Her heart began to thump hard in her chest, and her body began to tremble. She suddenly had the urge to vomit due to the butterflies flying widely in the pit of her stomach. She was about to turn around and run back upstairs when Draco grabbed her hand, predicting her move.

"Uh uh, Granger," he said shaking his head, not letting go of her hand. She had been so caught up in her own fear that she had missed his change in demeanor. He wasn't smirking, in fact his face was as impassive as ever. His eyes on the other hand were boring into hers, as if trying to convey something he couldn't say with words. He was just as scared as she was. "You can meet him willingly, or you can meet him by force. Take your pick," he muttered. "Speaking from experience I'd go with the first,"

Hermione gulped as he let go of her hand and then proceeded to open the double doors. He moved out of the way and gestured for her to step in first. The sound of her ballet flats echoed around the silent room as she passed through the doorway.

She was in a dining room with a long wooden table situated in its center. The table was full of people, some which Hermione recognized, and others that she didn't. Every seat was filled except for one next to Narcissa Malfoy, and another to the left of the head seat. She hoped she'd get the former, but her gut told her that would be unlikely.

"Hello Miss Granger," Voldemort greeted her from his spot at the head of the table. "Please, join us," he waved his hand toward the seat next to him.

With her legs shaking every step she took, Hermione made her way to the chair and sat down, unready to experience the most uncomfortable meal of her life.


	3. I'd Rather Starve

**A/N:** Hello :) I want to give a big thank you to all those who have reviewed, alerted, and favorited so far, it really makes my day when I see that you like what I've done and it's a great motivator for me. Here's chapter 3, I hope you like it!

***

"I am sure you are all wondering why I have invited Miss Granger to dine with us this morning," Voldemort said slowly as he stood up from his chair and began to walk counter clockwise around the table. He brushed Hermione's shoulder with his fingertips as he passed her, causing her body to tense up more than it already was. "Considering her blood status she shouldn't even be allowed on the premises. I must admit I wasn't surprised when you brought her here with no other intention but to use her for sport. It has come to my attention however that Miss Granger may be of great use to us. What is it they refer to her as? The _Brightest-Witch-of-Her-Age_? I need someone with a fresh level of intelligence and cleverness, especially considering many of you are dwindling in your effectiveness with a wand," At this he shot a bone chilling glare toward Wormtail, and a few others flinched in their seats as well. "To get to the point, I will be using Miss Granger to procure myself an heir,"

Hermione felt herself immediately go light headed as his last few words resounded in her brain. She felt sicker than she could ever remember feeling her entire life; it was as if her stomach had permanently left her. If she weren't paralyzed to her seat by the fact that everyone's eyes were on her, she would've ran to find the nearest bathroom and heaved up whatever was there from when she last ate.

"Do not fret Miss Granger," Voldemort said with uncaring reassurance. "It will not require me to lay a finger on you. There's a just potion you'll have to take and that will do the trick. Until then you will live here at the manor and make yourself as healthy as possible. And I'm sure Draco will keep you entertained,"

Hermione cast her school nemesis a glance as Voldemort singled him out. She expected him to be glowering, or something of the angry sort at Voldemort's words, but his face remained stoic. He didn't even look at her.

"And don't forget, you're the perfect bait for Harry Potter when the time comes. With that being said, you shall not harm her in anyway and cause her grief. I need her perfect for my plan," Voldemort hissed as he sat back in his chair, having had completed his circle around the table. "Now, with all explanations aside, let us eat. I'm sure our guest of honor is famished."

The table soon filled with platters of food, just like in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. A plate appeared in front of Hermione, and Voldemort politely instructed her to be the first to grab some food. Everyone watched her, waiting for her to choose something so they could begin also. _They may be evil, but they sure have a lot of propriety, _Hermione thought weakly, as her head was still swimming from everything she had just been told. She could tell those around the table were getting impatient with her. There was a basket of rolls in front of her, so with a shaking hand she reached for the first one she saw and placed it on her plate. As soon as the bread hit the white china a flourish of hands began to cross back and forth across the table as the Death Eaters began to cover their plates with the entrees. The room soon erupted in lively chatter, which she of course did not join in on.

Hermione knew she was hungry, but her appetite was nowhere to be found. She picked at the roll, placing small pieces into her dry mouth and forcing herself to swallow. Despite what he said about wanting her to make herself as healthy as possible, Voldemort didn't pay attention to what she was eating, which she was grateful for. She didn't think she could handle him offering her some scrambled eggs.

Soon the roll she had had on her plate was gone, and she wished she was too. She wasn't sure if she could leave or not though, and didn't dare ask to be excused, so she just stayed put and stared at her hands which she had folded in her lap. She took the time to mull over the abrupt changes her life had taken in the past twelve or so hours. It all made her head hurt.

It seemed like forever she was sitting at the long table of Death Eaters, but one by one they began to leave, and then it was just her and Draco.

"Come on Granger," he said to her, pulling out her chair. "Unless you just want to sit in here till the next meal in four hours,"

Hermione got up waited for Draco to start leading the way back to her room. Once she got there, she wasn't sure what to do. She searched the room for any form of comfort, but realized there was nothing there that could relieve her of the ache in her chest. She wanted her parents, Harry- someone to tell her it would all be okay. She wanted Ron. She wanted him to miraculously show up and wrap his arms around her and save her from this hell hole. Knowing that that was impossible, Hermione collapsed into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and cried.

"Lunch is at noon Granger," Draco said from the doorway. She had forgotten that he was still there. "Be ready." He closed the door behind him, leaving Hermione alone once again.

***

Draco couldn't help but feel sorry for Hermione as he walked away from her room and into the one right next to it, which happened to be his. As much as he disliked her and didn't want to have her as a constant presence from now on, no one deserved to have this life thrust upon them the way she just had. The way Draco had.

Growing up a Malfoy had many advantages, but it also came with an inevitable destiny. You were a Death Eater whether you bore the mark or not, and when the Dark Lord came back to power you would be there to support him. It was your duty to help him rid the world of the filth that had the audacity to claim themselves as wizards.

At first Draco relished the idea of being a Death Eater, especially on being an important member of Voldemort's ranks. His mission changed everything though. His last year at Hogwarts he watched as his classmates went about their daily lives without a care in the world, unaware of the drastic changes that would be coming their way. As he worked hard to fix the vanishing cabinet and simultaneously try to kill Dumbledore, he found himself constantly wondering if he was doing the right thing.

That night on the astronomy tower when he held his Headmaster at wand point, Dumbledore gave Draco a choice. A choice. The word was so foreign to him. He hadn't made his own decisions in who knew how long. All Draco had to do was lower his wand and accept the Headmaster's offer. His life would be free of fear and terror. He could have a life.

Professor Snape made Draco's decision for him however, and there was definitely no turning back. After that, Draco accepted his destiny as one of Voldemort's followers. His survival depended on it.

Now Hermione would have to do the same.

Draco sat at the desk he had in his room and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He had neglected to tell his friends that he wouldn't be returning for their final year of school, and thought they ought to know. Not that they were exactly friends anymore, considering he hadn't spent much time with them over the past year, but he needed something to do. He had barely set the quill on the paper when there was a knock on his door, and his mother allowed herself in.

"How is she?" Narcissa asked quietly.

"She's overjoyed with what's going to happen to her, Mother," Draco said sarcastically and with a hint of annoyance at being disturbed. He sighed, as his mother shot him a look of disapproval, and then he told her the truth. "She didn't say much. Just slumped onto her bed and began to cry,"

Narcissa's face fell. "Maybe you should go talk to her,"

"As lovely as that sounds, I don't think she's up for company at the moment,"

"You won't know unless you go ask," Narcissa said as she left the room.

Draco rolled his eyes and put his quill down. He knew his mother would pester him until he did what she wanted, so he grudgingly sat up and went back to Hermione's room. He gently opened the door and peeked in. "Granger?"

She was lying on her bed in a fetal position, asleep.

_See Mother, she doesn't want company_, he thought as he pulled the door closed again. He was startled when he caught his mother standing next to him.

"Well?" she said expectantly.

"She's sleeping,"

"Wake her up in time for lunch then. She's bound to be hungry. All she had for breakfast was that roll…"

Draco watched as his mother walked off, wondering why she had bothered to notice what Granger ate that morning. Like it mattered.

He went back to his desk and restarted his letters, hoping it would make the time pass more quickly. With no one in the house to spend time with other than older Death Eaters, his life had become a series of mundane days spent in his room. The only time he left was to eat or attend the unavoidable meetings. Voldemort hadn't entrusted him with another mission as of late, something he secretly appreciated.

He kept watch on the clock on the wall as it neared noon, and before he knew it, it was a quarter till. He had just finished penning his final letter, this one to Goyle, and sent it off with an owl. He then grudgingly stretched up from his chair and went to go get Hermione.

"Time for lunch, Granger," he called to her after opening her door. She was still on her bed, though no longer huddled together. She slowly sat up and stood up from the bed, then slid her shoes back on. She scrutinized her appearance as she caught sight of herself in the full length mirror situated in a corner of the room, and then proceeded to smooth out her hair and then her dress.

"You look fine, Granger," he groaned, wanting her to hurry up. He hated standing in doorways and waiting for others.

They were silent as they made their way to the dining hall, both having nothing to say to each other. Draco took a glance at Hermione and noticed how her impassive face had now passed into one of nervousness and anxiety.

"He's not here," he told her, taking her by surprise with his sudden breach of the silence. "It's just my mother, and I. The rest only come here when he asks them to, and he's only here when he needs to meet them,"

Draco knew he had calmed most of her apprehension by the way she let out a breath, as if she'd been holding it for a while. She became even more at ease when they walked into the room and she realized he had been telling the truth. Only his mother was there.

"Good afternoon," Narcissa smiled lightly. Since it was only going to be the three of them, the long table from that morning had disappeared and in its stead was a standard size family table. Draco pulled out the seat across from his mother and gestured for Hermione to sit down, and after pushing her in sat in the chair next to her.

They ate in silence for a little bit, while Draco apprehensively waited for his mother to speak up, as she was bound to do. He knew she didn't like silence while they were eating and would say something soon.

"Do you like your room Hermione?" she finally said, causing Hermione to jump at the sound of her name.

"Ye- yes, it's quite nice Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione didn't even look up from her plate.

"Please, call me Narcissa," Draco's mother asked sweetly. "Is Izzie treating you well?"

"Yes, Narcissa. Thank you,"

"Just let she or I know if you need anything. You're going to be here a long time and I don't want you to feel like a prisoner. I know you don't think much of my son-"

"Mother…" Draco groaned.

"-but I was hoping you and I could try becoming…friends. I know what it's like to be in house full of strangers Hermione. I don't want you to feel alone,"

Hermione looked up at Narcissa for the first time. Her eyes, which to Draco had seemed empty and lost, had grown slightly softer, and had a miniscule gleam of gratitude.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered, giving her the best smile she could muster at the moment, which happened to be barely a smile at all. Narcissa grinned back at her, pleased with the progress she had just made. Draco just chuckled to himself. It always baffled him, his mother's affect on people. She could make anyone on their worst day feel like they were worth a million galleons. He wished he had inherited that personality trait from her. Comforting people had never been his strong suit. _She should take over watching Granger_, he joked.

"So tell me about yourself Hermione," his mother continued. "All I know is that your parents are muggles and that you are quite talented when it comes to magic,"

Draco saw Hermione blush at his mother's words. It was almost endearing the way the pink rushed to her cheeks. _Whoa Draco, don't even think about going there_, he mentally berated himself. The last thing he needed was to grow fond for the Mudblood. He returned his focus to the food on his plate.

"What would you like to know?" Hermione asked quietly, apparently still unable to speak in a normal pitch.

"Tell me about your parents,"

Hermione's demeanor instantly changed. "My parents…"

Both Draco and his mother heard how she choked on the words, and how the little light that had returned to her eyes in the past couple minutes had flickered away.

"We could talk about something else if you like, dear," Narcissa proposed quickly.

"No, no, it's fine," Hermione said, but Draco could tell that it wasn't. Before he could change the subject though, Hermione began. "My parents are Daniel and Jean Granger, and they're both dentists…"

Draco learned more about Hermione in that one sitting than he ever thought he would. Her parents had met when they were at school where they learned to be "dentists," whatever those were, and then they got married and had Hermione a couple years later. The first time she performed unintentional magic she had levitated a small stack of books down the hall of her house. The second time she had gotten a jar of cookies to refill itself. Her parents were worried when she started displaying signs of magic, since they didn't know what it was, but were completely supportive when Dumbledore came explaining everything and inviting Hermione to Hogwarts.

"They must miss you while you're away," Narcissa sympathized. "I know how hard it is to see Draco leave,"

Draco felt his face heat up. He hated when his mother talked about him like that.

"They do," Hermione replied. "And I, them. But we write, and it makes it easier,"

"They're probably sick with worry wondering where you are. I'm sorry we can't let them know,"

Hermione's face fell a little more than it already had, and it seemed as if she was about to cry. _Not again_, Draco thought to himself.

"My apologies dear, I didn't mean to upset you," Narcissa said with regret.

"No, it's not that. I understand why you can't tell them where I am," Hermione gulped. "It's just… I know they're not worried, and I know they're not wondering where I am,"

Both Draco and his mother looked at Hermione, unsure of what she was getting at.

"They're not…" Narcissa trailed off, not wanting to say the word. Hermione, knowing what she was going to say, shook her head.

"I obliviated their memories before I went to the Weasley's. I didn't want them to know about everything that was going on in the wizarding world," Hermione tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to come out, but her voice was starting to crack. "They know about Harry, and they know I'll follow him wherever he needs to go. I didn't want them worrying about me. I gave them new identities and sent them out of the country. They wouldn't know me if I sat myself down in front of them. They're just a happily married couple without any children now."

Tears spilled out of Hermione's eyes as she finished, and she turned herself away from the two people sitting with her. Narcissa reached her hand across the table and wrapped it around Hermione's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's alright Hermione. You did what you thought was best." She then brought her eyes over to Draco and then gave him a stare that said, _you better be nice to her_. Darn her motherliness.

"Well, I have some errands to get to, so I better be going now," Narcissa announced a little later as she slid out of her chair. They had finished the rest of their meal in silence, and Hermione's tears had since subsided. "Have Draco give you a tour of the manor Hermione, I'm sure you'll find it's not as foreboding as its name sounds," she smiled, and then she left the room.

Hermione solemnly followed Draco back to their bedrooms, staring at her feet the entire way. She was about to step through her doorway when he asked, "Did you want a tour of the manor?"

She paused for a moment, and Draco wondered what was going through her mind. "Maybe later," she finally answered him. "I think I just want to sit in my room for a while,"

Draco nodded to her and began to head towards his bedroom, when he turned around again. "Hey Granger, I'm sorry about your parents. That was very brave what you did. I couldn't have done it, not to my mother at least,"

Hermione just gave him a weak nod before isolating herself to her room. Draco sighed as he returned to his quarters, once again left to his own boring devices. It was better than being around Granger though, his life was already full of pitiful somberness without her adding to it. As long as she wanted to stay cooped up in her room, he had a few hours of freedom.

***

The hours passed by slowly for Hermione as she lay on her bed, just staring at the ceiling, unsure what to do with herself. She had enjoyed Narcissa Malfoy's company, although it had been hard to tell about her parents. But making conversation was far less awkward than eating in silence. She was disappointed when Narcissa had to leave, knowing that all she had now was Draco for company. Hermione could tell he didn't want her there, much less being her keeper, so she wasn't going to make him spend time with her when it was clear he'd rather not.

She had searched the room for any type of entertainment, and finding none went back to just lying on her bed, daydreaming about either rescue or escape.

"Miss,"

Hermione jerked with surprise as Izzie popped beside her.

"Izzie washed Miss's dress for her," the house elf beamed as she pointed at the red bridesmaid dress that now hung in the closet. "And Izzie found this in the hem," She set the bag Hermione had completely forgotten about in her mistress' lap.

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully as she opened it up and looked at the familiar objects it held.

"Anything for Miss," Izzie bowed her head, before popping away.

Hermione became excited as she poured the contents of the bag out. Certainly there was something in there that could keep her entertained. She gave a huff as she went through the pile and found that none of it so far could be used for amusement. Then she saw it. Sticking out at the bottom was a book. She hastily plucked it out.

_The Tales of Beadle the Bard_. It was the book Dumbledore had given her.

Her spirits significantly higher now that she had something to keep her occupied, Hermione plopped back onto the bed and began to read. She became so lost in the stories she barely paid attention as the room around her began to darken, and she even forgot about the reality she was in. It was knock on the door that brought her out of her secluded world.

As Draco entered the room it all came back to her that she was still at Malfoy Manor.

"Dinner's going to start soon. Everyone's going to be there, so you should prepare yourself," he said.

Hermione sighed. "Am I expected to be there?"

Draco was caught off guard by Hermione's sudden question. So far she had been quiet and submissive, following along with whatever he told her.

"No, but-"

"Then I'm not going," she said shortly.

"Come on Granger, you've got to be hungry. You hardly ate anything for lunch, and my mother told me all you had was a roll for breakfast,"

"I'd rather starve than share a meal with them,"

"Well you're just going to have to get over that," Draco said curtly.

The two just stared at each other, both not wanting to back down.

"I will," Hermione finally said. "Just, not tonight. Make up an excuse- tell them I'm sleeping. Please, Malfoy," she begged.

"Fine," he huffed in defeat, not wanting to argue anymore. "Just don't expect me to bring anything back for you." Annoyed, he stalked out of the room, leaving her behind.

"Thank you," she called after him quietly, though she assumed she was a second too late. But he heard her.

No one bothered Hermione for the rest of the night as she continued to read and reread _The Tales of Beadle the Bard_. She knew Dumbledore had given it to her for a reason, but she had yet to figure it out. Not that it really mattered anymore. Whatever information she found she'd have no way of getting to Harry and Ron.

She wondered where they were at the moment. If they had even left the burrow at all. She couldn't imagine Harry just staying put when he knew Dumbledore and the rest of the wizarding world were depending on him. No, Harry and Ron were definitely out looking for the horcruxes, and maybe even her. Wherever they were, she hoped they were safe.

Hermione was tired of crying. All it did was drain her energy. Although it had only been a day, the idea that she wasn't leaving this place any time soon was becoming more solidified. If the ministry hadn't found Voldemort at Malfoy Manor yet, there was an even less likely chance that they would find her. She'd never give up hope that she might be saved, but as long as she was here she'd just have to grin and bear it. Make the most of what they were willing to do and give her. As much as she hated it, Hermione was now a glorified prisoner.

But at least she was alive.

Her stomach began to grumble, letting her know that her defiance to go down to dinner didn't keep it from wanting food. Hermione lay down on her bed, hoping it would make the pangs go away. It worked for a few minutes, but as the growling became continually louder and she began to literally feel the emptiness in her stomach, she knew her need for nourishment could no longer be ignored.

Although Hermione knew Izzie would come if she called for her, Hermione didn't want to bother the house elf this late at night, and there was no way she was bothering Draco. She had no choice but to settle with the only other alternative: she'd have to find the kitchens on her own.

Hermione stepped as quietly as she could along the hard marble that all the floors in the house seemed to posses. The only exception to this seemed to be the bedrooms, which were carpeted a pristine white- at least, hers was. She figured the kitchens couldn't be far from the dining hall, so she made her way down the two flights of stairs and down the hall to the only other place in the house she'd been to. Everywhere was dark, except for a few lit torches here and there which helped guide her way. Once she got to the large double doors of the dining room she decided to start her search for the kitchens with the doors to the right. The first door led to a grand ballroom with an extremely high ceiling that was enchanted to reflect the outside, just like the one in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Behind the second door she found a sitting room. Hoping the third door would take her where she wanted to she opened it eagerly, but was met with disappointment when all she found was a set of stairs that led into darkness. Hermione shivered as she wondered what could be down there.

"Looking for something Granger?"

Hermione jumped so high she was surprised she landed back on her feet. Malfoy was leaning against the wall next to her, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Didn't anyone teach you it's rude to go searching through houses that aren't yours?"

"I was looking for the kitchens," she said, embarrassed. She hastily closed the door.

"Well they're definitely not down there… or through a door to be quite honest," he said, picking himself off the wall. He pulled out his wand and then uttered a locking spell, sealing the door shut. Draco then cocked his head to the side, indicating for Hermione to follow him.

"So what is down there?" Hermione asked as they went down the hall to the left of the dining room.

"That is none of your business," he replied simply, leading her down some stairs. "I take it you're hungry,"

"I'm not, but my stomach is,"

"You'd like to think they were separate entities wouldn't you? Yourself and your stomach. You'd be able to get so much more done,"

Hermione resisted the urge to comment that they were actually having a somewhat normal conversation. Neither of them had insulted each other. She didn't want to jinx it by mentioning this fact.

Draco stopped in front of a painting of a man sitting at a table for two that was filled with food. Since it was night the man was fast asleep in his chair. "David," Draco whispered sternly. "David… David!" he banged on the frame.

"Oh! Young Master Malfoy!" the man called David said as he woke. "What calls you at this late hour?"

"Food David, what else would I bother you for? Now open up,"

"And who might this young lady be?"

"Voldemort's mistress,"

Hermione nearly gagged on the made up title Draco had just given her. She slapped him on the arm. "Don't ever call me that again _ferret_,"

So much for keeping the civility.

"Someone's ornery when they're hungry," Draco scoffed. "Her name's Hermione, David,"

"Ah, _Hermione_. _'Too hot, too hot! To mingle friendship far is mingling bloods. I have tremor cordis on me: my heart dances; But not for joy; not joy.'_" David quoted dramatically.

Hermione laughed. "Of all the quotes to say and you chose that one?"

"The first few words are so attention grabbing, don't you think? I do hope your fate is not the same as your namesake Queen's however,"

"As do I,"

"Well as much as I'd love to stand hear and listen as you two prattle on," Draco said, put out by his lack of knowledge on their conversation, "I'd really love to go into the kitchen now,"

"You're not even the one that's hungry," Hermione snorted before turning back to David. "My apologies for having this menace wake you up-"

"This _menace _is keeping _you _from starving!"

"-but I really am quite famished,"

"Then into the kitchens I will let you pass," David smiled, swinging the portrait open.

Hermione wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she knew whatever image her mind had come up with in no way matched up with the real thing. The kitchen was one large room with ovens, stoves, counter tops, and cabinets lining the walls, and even more cabinets hanging from the ceiling. Opposite from the entrance were two doors that Hermione suspected held the food. In the middle of the room was a table that resembled the one in the dining room. Hermione assumed that just like the Hogwarts kitchens, it aligned with its counterpart so that the dishes placed on it would appear on its other half. Next to the table was an island with bar stools around it.

"What do you want to eat," Draco said, opening one of the doors and revealing a decently sized pantry of non perishable food. "This is where we keep all the stuff that doesn't need to be cold. Stuff that does need to stay cold goes in the chilling room next to this one. Well?"

Hermione searched around for something that would quench her appetite. There were muffins, loaves of bread, a variety of fruits, cookies, pastries, and so many other things Hermione wasn't sure how she would choose. She then caught site of a box of "Honey O's," which she took to be the equivalent of the muggle "Honey-Nut Cheerios," one of her favorite cereals. She eagerly grabbed the box from the shelf and began to walk out.

"Really?" Draco laughed. "We have every type of food in the world at your fingertips and you come out with Honey O's?"

"They're good," Hermione said with a frown.

"Whatever floats your boat Granger. Let me get you the other necessary items,"

Hermione sat herself down on one of the stools at the island, and opened the box. A second later a bowl and spoon had levitated themselves in front of her, and an identical set had appeared in the spot across from her. Draco returned with a pitcher of milk and after placing it in between the two sets of dishes, sat down in the seat opposite Hermione.

"Are you hungry, too?" she said, pouring the cereal into her bowl.

"Not terribly, but if you're going to eat then I might as well, too," he said as he took the box from Hermione and mimicked her routine. "Bon appétit, Granger,"

They had entered a comfortable silence where nothing was heard, but the sound of the tinkling of spoons against bowls. Hermione was starting on her second one when Draco said something.

"What were you and David talking about?"

"Hmm? Oh, just a Shakespeare play,"

"A what?"

"A play by the English man William Shakespeare. He was a muggle, so I'm not surprised you don't know him. He was quite the playwright and has many famous works. You should read them, I'm sure you'd get a kick out of Titus Andronicus" Hermione smirked.

"Although I know that was meant to be an insult, I don't know what it means, so I'm just going to ignore it for the time being. So what does Willy Shaker's play have to do with your name and fate?"

"Someone was paying close attention,"

"I always do Granger. Now answer my question," Draco said impatiently.

"_Alright_," Hermione huffed. "So _Shakespeare _wrote a play called _The Winter's Tale_ and there's a character in it named Queen Hermione, and that's where my parents got my name,"

"Ha, like you'd ever be a Queen,"

"Whatever, Malfoy, if you don't want me to answer the rest of your question-"

"No, please, keep going,"

"Anyway, the first part of the story is basically about how King Leontes deceives himself into thinking Queen Hermione is cheating on him with his best friend, and so he condemns her and puts her in prison where she dies,"

"How tragic," Draco said with sarcasm.

"You wanted to know and I told you. Like I said, you should read them,"

Draco just scoffed at her suggestion.

"You know, you're being oddly nonchalant for someone who's being held against their will," he said.

Hermione shrugged. "I've decided moping around won't better my situation so I might as well just go with it and live the best I can given the circumstances. Besides I'm not in the usual prisoner position. I have my own room, bathroom, clothing, and I'm being fed gratuitously," Hermione gestured towards her bowl of cereal. "I'm not going to go around being chipper about everything, but I can at least try to be… okay,"

Draco just stared at her, and then slowly nodded in response. "You're stronger than I thought Granger," he said, and she gave a small laugh.

"I'm a Gryffindor," she said.

They ate in silence after that. When they were both finished, Draco quietly escorted Hermione back to her room.

"Granger- I wouldn't go hunting for rooms at night anymore if I were you," he warned before turning away from her. Hermione nodded, knowing it was advice she should probably keep. It was Malfoy Manor after all. However, as she lay back in her bed she couldn't help but wonder what had been down those mysterious stairs. It was with those final thoughts that she allowed her mind to drift into the abyss of dreamless sleep. 


	4. Tour de Malfoy Manor

"Rise and shine Granger," Draco greeted Hermione callously as he pulled back the curtains on her window. The sun shone in, hitting her straight in the eyes and blinding her. "It's just you, me, and my mother today, so there's no excuse for you to not come and eat,"

Hermione grumbled as she got out of bed, not appreciating her morning wake up call. _So this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life, the Slytherin Prince barging in whenever he pleases, _she thought bitterly.

"Here's your wand," he said, handing her back the magical stick that had been taken away from her. "It can only do simple spells now, nothing complicated, and definitely nothing dangerous,"

"Great," Hermione mumbled.

Fifteen minutes later and she and Draco were once again on their way to the dining hall, Draco always a few steps ahead of her. _Sheesh, he walks as if he were on a mission_.

"Good morning Hermione," Narcissa said warmly as the two of them came in and took their seats. "We missed you at dinner last night. Are you feeling better rested now?"

"Yes, Narcissa, thank you," Hermione said, shooting Draco a thankful glance. He had actually made good on giving an excuse for her.

They all started piling food on their plates and began to eat. Narcissa was pleased to see that Hermione's appetite had returned, and that she was beginning to grow more comfortable around the Malfoy Matriarch.

"Now Hermione," Narcissa said. "You told us about your family yesterday, but I want to hear more about you. What do you like to do?"

Still taken aback by Narcissa's interest in her life, Hermione found it difficult to begin. "Well…as you know, I enjoy reading and writing. I've always loved listening to music, so when I'm home I try to catch up with all the new songs that have come out while I was away,"

"Muggle music I assume?"

"Yes,"

"We'll have to get some for you then. I myself have an affinity to music. I couldn't imagine being without it for over half the year. What else dear?"

Hermione spent the rest of the breakfast conversation telling Narcissa her favorite past times. Like having girls' nights with Ginny, playing the board games her family had collected over the years, doing jigsaw puzzles, and playing a few muggle sports.

"You should teach Draco a few of those, I'm sure he'd enjoy them," Narcissa said.

"Not likely," Draco commented, earning an amused look from both his mother and Hermione. The clock then struck ten, alerting the household to the time with a loud chime. "Don't you have somewhere to be mother?"

"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me Draco. I'll see you two tonight then,"

"What about lunch?" Hermione asked.

"Unfortunately my errands will keep me from joining it with you, but I look forward to seeing you later. Goodbye darling," she said, kissing Draco on his temple before leaving.

"Bye Mum," Draco scowled. Hermione had to work hard to suppress a laugh. Seeing Malfoy uncomfortable always made her day. "I suppose we should start with your tour of the house now," he said, standing up.

"I suppose so," Hermione said as she did the same, and followed Draco out. It seemed that stalking Draco around his house would be another thing Hermione would be doing for the rest of her life.

"The Manor has four levels, this is the second and main floor. On the first floor we have the house elf quarters , the laundry, and the kitchens. That straight ahead is the entrance, and you'll have no reason to ever go through it," he said, pointing to the two insanely tall doors across from the dining hall. "As you discovered last night this here is the grand ballroom, we use it for large parties, celebrations, etc. That next room is the sitting room where guests go to sit and talk their lives away. And this door-"

"Is not to be opened under any circumstances?" Hermione finished for him.

"Precisely. Down this way we have the regular ballroom, for smaller celebratory gatherings. That's the main floor lavatory," He took her down the stairs that led to the bottom level. "And then of course here's the kitchens,"

"Why good morning Miss Hermione," David greeted her kindly. There was now a woman sitting at the table with him. "May I introduce to you my wife Anne,"

"How do you do young miss," Anne lightly bowed her head. "David tells me you will be a permanent resident of our household?"

"Yes, I will be. Draco's giving me a tour of the manor right now,"

"Be sure to say hello to my dear friend Demeter on the third floor- I was visiting her last night, which is why I wasn't here. It's so nice to have another woman in the house; all I hear are men, men, men. And it's equally delightful to see young Master Malfoy with a lady friend. We've all waited so long for him to have one of those,"

Hermione let out an involuntary snort that she managed to disguise as a cough. As ridiculous as the insinuation was however, Hermione couldn't help but blush. When she glanced over at Draco she noticed his cheeks had gone a slight shade of pink too.

"And this is where we leave," he said quickly, steering Hermione away from David and Anne.

"Be sure to visit whenever you're hungry!" David called.

"What about those other rooms?" Hermione asked. Next to the kitchens had been three other doors.

"Rooms of no consequence, don't ever bother with them,"

Once again Draco was in front of Hermione and he was leading her back up to the second story and then continued to the other staircase to get to the other levels. "This is the music room," he said once they were at the third floor, opening the first door on the right. "You got your piano, violins, cello, harp, and every other symphonic instrument you can think of,"

He closed the door and then proceeded to the first door on his left. "This room turns into whatever you want it to be, much like the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts," he explained, not opening it. "We call it the Shifting room."

Draco was going over everything rather quickly, and even his steps seemed to be in haste. Hermione could barely keep up with him, and hoped she remembered everything he was telling her.

"Geez, slow down Malfoy, it's not like we have anywhere else to be," Hermione complained.

"That may true, but I don't want to spend my whole day showing you my house,"

"Maybe you should move into a smaller one then, that'd make it go faster,"

"Funny Granger,"

"And why can't you walk next to me like a normal person? You're always a good five steps ahead of me. Does standing next to me bother you that much?"

"Now that you ask, yes it does. It'd mean we were equals Granger, and we are _not _equals,"

"You're insufferable," Hermione grumbled.

"As are you," Draco replied uncaringly. "Now moving on-"

"Hold on, that's the portrait of Demeter. I'm going to go say hi,"

"Fine. Make it quick though," Draco said, leaning himself against the opposite wall.

Hermione didn't even bother to say anything back as she made her way to the vivid portrait of the goddess of the earth. She was standing at the forefront of a landscape of golden, billowing fields. In the sky the sun shone brightly, lighting everything up. "Good morning, are you Demeter?" Hermione knew the answer, but thought it polite to ask anyway.

"Yes I am," the goddess smiled weakly. "You must be the new Lady of the house,"

"That would be me," Hermione sighed. "You're portrait is beautiful,"

"Thank you. I just wish…" Demeter looked down with sadness in her eyes, unable to finish what she was going to say.

"I know how you feel," Hermione sympathized. Hermione wished she could reach in and comfort the woman. "You get her back, you know,"

"Oh I know, but not for another few months. Till then it's just me and my golden field of grain,"

"Chop, chop Granger," Draco tapped his foot impatiently.

"You better go, miss, young Master Malfoy isn't known for his patience," Demeter said. "It was a pleasure meeting you,"

"You, too," Hermione smiled and then she went back to Draco.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Do honestly not pay attention to the paintings in your house Malfoy?"

"Just the ones that open,"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's the Greek Goddess of the Earth, Demeter. She makes things grow. She has a daughter Persephone who grows things with her. According to Greek myth, Persephone was taken by the God of the Underworld, Hades. Another one of the gods was sent to retrieve Persephone for her mother, but not before Hades could get her to eat some pomegranate seeds. Because she had consumed food while in the Underworld, Persephone was bound to return there for a period each year. Right now is one of those periods, and so Demeter is left in the world of her painting without her daughter,"

"I see," was all Draco had to say. He wasn't stupid. He saw the parallels between Persephone and Hermione. The only difference was that Hermione wouldn't be saved, and get to return to her family. As long as the Dark Lord needed her she would have to stay here. The chances she'd see anyone from her previous life were slim to none. Not wanting to bring this up at the moment, he just moved on. "This next room is my father's personal study. No one goes in there except for him and those he invites,"

Like with the Shifting room, Draco didn't open the door to his father's study, and instead directed Hermione towards the set of double doors at the far end of the hall. "I'm sure you'll appreciate this room," he said, pushing the doors ajar.

"Whoa," Hermione breathed as she walked in. It was the grandest library she had ever seen to be inside someone's home. Everyone she knew just had a few shelves against some walls, or a small room dedicated to books. This however, was far more superior to all of those. All Hermione could see was shelves upon shelves of books. The room was circular and had a high ceiling with a sky light at the top, and the only other window was a standard size one to the left about three meters from the floor. Everything else was covered in books. Opposite the entrance way was a spiral stairway that led to the second and third story walkways that circled around the room so you could get to the books higher up. "I think I've died and gone to heaven. We can finish the tour here Malfoy, unless there are important things on the fourth floor besides our rooms,"

"I figured you would say that, and no, the fourth floor's just bedrooms," Draco said.

"May I?" Hermione asked, taking a step towards the books.

"Knock yourself out,"

And with that blessing, Hermione darted around the room, and began picking up everything she found interesting. Draco just shook his head and relaxed on one of the couches in the middle of the room. Soon Hermione had a decent stack of books she had compiled from the first level and set them on the low table in front of Draco Then she made her way to the second story.

"How do I get to the ones up there?" she asked him, pointing to the shelves clearly out of her reach.

"You see those large square tiles the walk way is made of?" Draco said from his spot on the couch. "Stand on one and say 'up',"

"Are you serious?"

"Just do it Granger. Don't you trust me?"

"You really have to ask that Malfoy?" Hermione snickered, but she decided to do what he said anyway. "Up!"

She let out a little shriek as the floor beneath her started to rise up. "How do I get it to stop?!"

"You tell it to stop," Draco said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hermione said the word and the lift came to halt.

"That is amazing," she said awe. She spent an even longer time tackling that level of books.

"Granger, the library's not going away anytime soon," Draco finally said, noticing the colossal pile that had formed on the small table. "If you spend all your time picking books then you'll never get to actually read them. Ow!" Draco yelled as a book fell on top of his head, courtesy of Hermione. She sat down on the couch adjacent to his and set down her recent collection before grabbing a book from the top of the pile and flipping it open. Draco picked up the book she had so nicely dropped on him and read the title.

"_Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. _You were serious about me reading this weren't you?"

"Of course I was, and how lucky of you that it was already in your library. I didn't take the Malfoys as ones to have a collection of muggle literature,"

"I wouldn't know. It's not like this is a place I come too often," Draco retorted. He was about to fling the book to the side when he realized he had nothing better to do and might as well read it. Before he knew it he was halfway through the story without any intent on putting it down.

"Malfoy…Malfoy!" Hermione snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"What?!"

"Isn't it time for lunch?"

Draco looked up at the clock, and then heard the chiming of its bells. It was noon. He had become so immersed in the tragic tale that the time had just passed him by. Hermione was right, it was time for lunch, but he really didn't feel like getting up. "Let's just eat in here," he said.

"Eat in the library?"

"Yeah. You can technically eat anywhere you want in the house, we just prefer to eat in the dining room together most of the time. Since it's just you and me, we can just stay here today,"

"Sounds good to me," Hermione said, sitting back with her book again.

Draco called his personal house elf Wren and told him they'd be eating in the library for the day. Wren bowed and popped away, and a few minutes later he popped back in with a platter of sandwiches. Draco and Hermione consumed them as they continued to read their books.

"Hey!" Hermione shrieked as Draco threw the book he had just finished reading at her head.

"Doesn't feel so great does it?" he said, alluding to her action a few hours before. "That was a terrible story,"

"And yet you looked completely enthralled by it," Hermione said, setting the book on the table.

"Some people take revenge way too seriously. None of these characters had any mercy,"

"It's called a tragedy for a reason,"

"Yeah it was tragic. Then again, there's so much careless and violent bloodshed it's almost comical,"

"Leave it to you to find amusement in other's pain," Hermione muttered, going back to her book.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco shot, pulling the book away from her and tossing it to the side.

"It means that you don't care when people get hurt, and take pleasure in it most of the time, especially when it's instigated by you,"

Draco scoffed. "You think you know me so well, don't you Granger?"

"I know enough," Hermione said curtly. "I know about that night in the astronomy tower,"

Draco's face fell. He stared at her, and in return her eyes bored into his.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, quickly tearing away from her gaze.

"Yes you do,"

"Just drop it Granger," Draco growled.

"What if I don't want to?" Hermione teasingly egged him on.

"Just. Drop it." He said sternly. He returned to look at her again, his eyes hard, and unrelenting.

Hermione knew the conversation was over. She looked away from him and grabbed another book from the pile. They once again enveloped themselves in silence as the hours of the day passed them by.

"So Hermione, tell me about your friends," Narcissa asked as she, Hermione, Draco, and Lucius sat at the dinner table that night.

"Well there's Harry of course, and the Weasleys," Hermione began to answer. Both of the male Malfoys snorted, and Narcissa gave them dirty looks. "I'm closest to Ron and Ginny out of them,"

"Some of my best friends used to be boys too, Jerrick and Christopher. I still think about them from time to time and wonder where they are," Narcissa said.

"You're not friends with them anymore?"

"No, once I started dating Lucius we fell out of touch. It's my fault really, I decided I wanted to spend more time with this guy over here than them," Narcissa said, giving a half smile. Hermione wanted to ask Mrs. Malfoy if she regretted that decision, but didn't dare with Mr. Malfoy sitting with them. "Anyway, please continue dear- how long have all of you been friends?"

"We met on our first train ride to Hogwarts, but didn't become friends until Halloween when they saved me from an escaped troll. After that we just kind of bonded, and we've been together ever since. Being Harry's friend does come with a price mind you," Hermione laughed.

"Indeed it does," Lucius Malfoy finally spoke. The whole table froze at the sound of his voice. Not one of its other occupants had expected him to say anything the whole meal. For a moment they thought those three words would be the only ones he would utter, but he continued. "You've been chased by dementors, nearly attacked by a wolf, had to break into the ministry of magic, dueled with dark wizards, and probably many other things that the public doesn't know about, all before you've even come of age. And now you're here, all because you chose to attach yourself to the boy of all boys. Tell me Ms. Granger, _is it worth it?"_

Hermione sat there stunned. She thought about everything Lucius Malfoy had just said. All of it was true. She had encountered many things over the past few years that may have been avoided had she not decided to follow Harry. If she weren't being held at Malfoy Manor she'd be out with him right now, on a mission to collect the horcruxes, so they could destroy Voldemort, the darkest wizard in history. Being Harry's friend meant being in danger. Unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy had a point. Was it really worth it?

"Yes," Hermione finally said, her voice shaky. "Every minute."

Yes, being Harry's friend had a clause that said you'd be in constant mortal peril, but it was for the good of humanity, and that was worth everything. She'd follow Harry to the ends of the earth if it meant saving those she loved.

"How was your tour of the house Hermione?" Narcissa asked, trying to lighten the mood her husband had dampened.

"Very nice," Hermione answered, her speech still slightly unsteady. She managed to get it back as she continued to talk. "The library is beautiful. We actually spent most of the day in there,"

"I take it you and Draco are becoming friends then?"

Hermione couldn't help but notice that Narcissa had a hopeful expression, as if she anticipated something to happen between her and Draco. Hermione looked over to the boy in question, and though he was quite focused on his plate, she could still see his flushed cheeks. "We're getting there," she stated simply, and she felt oddly satisfied when Draco reddened even more.

"I was surprised there were muggle books in the library," Hermione said, steering the subject back to books and away from her and Draco.

"Oh I put those in there," Narcissa smiled. "They were selling them in Flourish and Blotts so I bought a few of them and thought they were absolutely wonderful. What did you read?"

"Pride and Prejudice,"

"Oh I love that one. The classic story of the pompous, rich man falling for the headstrong, lower-class girl. It may be fiction, but it's nice to think two people can set aside their differences and admit the love each other," Narcissa sighed. Hermione didn't miss how her eyes flickered between hers and Draco's.

"I'm going to read Much Ado About Nothing, tomorrow," Hermione told her, once again taking the topic away from something Narcissa couldn't allude to her and Draco.

For the rest of the meal, and even a little after, Hermione and Narcissa discussed books they both enjoyed, while Lucius and Draco had their own separate conversation.

When Draco dropped Hermione off at her room that night he only had one thing to say.

"Just to be clear Granger, we are _not_ friends,"

"Never said we were Malfoy," Hermione said casually.

Draco stared at her for a second, his eyes travelling from her eyes to her mouth and then back again, and he even took a step towards her. Hermione could feel her stomach start to gather butterflies.

"Like I said," he whispered. "Just being clear." He then turned away and into his room without even saying goodnight.

Hermione stepped into her room and closed the door. _I said we were getting there_, she thought, clarifying to herself what she hadn't been able to him.


	5. Outside

"Time to get up Granger," Draco said the next morning as he went into Hermione's room and drew back the curtains. She groaned and rolled over, pulling her comforter over her head to block out the offending light. Draco laughed. "I don't think so," he said, pulling the blanket back. There was a tug-of-war between them as Hermione tried to stay put and under her covers while Draco tried to get her up. Finally, he just took out his wand and uttered a spell that caused water to spout out of it and hit Hermione in the face.

"MALFOY!" Hermione shrieked, jumping off the bed to dodge the stream, her hair already sopping wet.

"Ha! It worked!"

"Stupid prat," Hermione muttered under her breath as she grabbed her wand and stomped into the bathroom.

"I heard that!" Draco yelled after her, still chuckling.

Breakfast in the dining hall that morning was uneventful as Narcissa had left to visit a friend somewhere, leaving only Hermione and Draco for company. They didn't say anything to each other as they ate, just enjoyed the comfortable silence they forced between them.

When they were done Draco quietly sat up, and Hermione did the same, ready to go to the library where she assumed they would be spending the bulk of their day.

"Where are we going?" she asked when Draco wasn't heading towards the stairs.

"Outside,"

"We're going outside? Am I _allowed _outside?"

"Yes, Granger, you're allowed to go outside," Draco said annoyed and like he was talking to a five year old. "You're just not allowed to leave,"

"And what will happen if I try?" Hermione smirked.

"Do you really want to find out?" Draco raised his brow in question.

"Probably not," Hermione answered sheepishly after a moment of contemplation. She followed Draco as he led her down the hallway that went past the other rooms on that floor. What Hermione had previously thought was a dead end actually continued to the right into a much shorter hall with a glass door at the end. Hermione became excited as she realized she was going to get out of the closed walls of the manor, even if she would still be on its grounds.

When she stepped through the doorway and into the light of the day she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air around her. When she opened her eyes she let out a small gasp.

The area before her was simply beautiful. There were large vases everywhere, each one harboring its own unique flower. There were roses, lilies, irises, carnations, bluebells, daffodils, daisies, tulips, and probably many more that Hermione just couldn't see at the moment. The way the vases were situated created pathways between them, and she couldn't wait to be able to walk along them.

"And welcome to the Malfoy garden," Draco said bored. "The only place here that looks alive,"

Hermione began to walk through the garden, Draco behind her for once. She looked at each flower and touched its petals gently with her fingers. She loved the feel of them against her skin, they were always so soft. She brought her face up to them, breathing in their scent. She had missed having flowers. Her mother had a fairly large garden in their back yard and always kept it in pristine condition. Hermione would help her take care of it; it was how they chose to spend their time together.

"What's your favorite flower Granger?" Draco asked.

"Tiger lilies," Hermione answered, so enthralled by everything around her she was barely paying attention to him. He grabbed her hand and started dragging her down one of the rows of vases, not stopping until they had reached a vase full of the orange colored flowers Hermione loved. Hermione hadn't noticed them for a couple seconds though, her mind in slight shock over the fact that Draco's hand was around hers. The contact had caused a strange reaction in Hermione; suddenly she was finding it hard to think and her stomach was dancing around again. He let her hand go, and pointed to the flowers. Hermione blinked and came back to her senses, taking in the bushel of tiger lilies. The sight of them just made her want to pick them all up and carry them around.

"Thank you," she smiled appreciatively. She bent over and smelled one of the stems closest to her. "Tiger lilies remind me of my mother. There's this book with a Native American princess named Tiger Lily, and my mother said that I used to run around the house pretending I was her, so she started to call me that. When she showed me the flower I just fell in love with it,"

Hermione wasn't sure why she felt the need to tell Draco that story. She looked up at him and saw that he was watching her intently, his eyes almost sad, as if he felt sorry for her. Just when Hermione thought she was getting a glimpse of a caring Draco Malfoy, he had to ruin it.

"How sweet Granger," he mocked. Hermione just rolled her eyes and kept walking.

In the middle of the garden was a large, circular water fountain, and in the center was a sculpture of a man with wings about to kiss a maiden lying in his arms. Hermione recognized it right away.

"Cupid and Psyche," she said, smiling, as Draco appeared beside her. "Or more specifically, Psyche Revived By Cupid's Kiss,"

"Come again?" Draco said, not sure what she was talking about.

"You should really learn more about the art pieces in your home, Draco," Hermione said as she sat on the edge of the fountain. "This is a sculpture of the god Cupid reviving his love Psyche from the dead,"

"Hmm, I always wondered what was supposed to be going on there. Did they really have to be naked?"

"I don't know, ask the guy who made it," Hermione chuckled. "I personally don't think it matters whether they're clothed or not, it's not supposed to be the focus,"

"And what is the focus?"

"That he loves her, and she loves him. I mean, look at the way they're holding each other. They look more in love than many couples I've seen- and they're stationary," Hermione mused. "Every girl wants someone to hold them like that, to love them like that,"

Hermione became lost in her thoughts as she admired the piece before her. She couldn't help, but imagine herself in Psyche's position and Ron in the place of Cupid's- but clothed of course. Like the god of love, maybe he would come and wake her from this nightmare.

"Weasley isn't going to save you Granger," Draco said in an almost whisper, as if he had read her thoughts.

"I know," she said without looking at him. There was no way Ron would find her. Her chance for love had come and gone.

"You're not doomed for eternity you know," Draco started again. "Once the Dark Lord's done with you, you can do what you want. You'll still be under his supervision of course, but you'll be allowed to find someone to spend your life with. He may not be everything you dreamed of, but at least he'll give you some sort of a life,"

Hermione hoped Draco was right.

After spending a few more minutes at the fountain Draco showed her the orchard of cherry blossoms his mother had insisted on getting, and they strolled along after that for a while.

"So you don't think we'll ever be friends Draco?" Hermione ventured to ask, bringing back their short conversation from the night before. If she was going to be here forever she at least wanted one person she could be close to, even if that person had to be Draco Malfoy.

"No, we have too much history for that. Besides, we both know we drive each other crazy,"

"We're not driving each other crazy right now," Hermione pointed out.

"Still, after all those years of me bullying you endlessly, are you really going to forgive me?"

"You make a good point," Hermione said, and they were quiet for a few moments. "What if I forgave you right now?"

"Like you would do that,"

"I'm serious!" Hermione stopped him, and then looked him in the eye. "Draco Malfoy, I forgive you for the six years of torment you gave me, and all the names you decided to call me over the course of them too,"

Draco stared at her for a second and then let out a laugh. "Whatever, Granger," he said, shaking his head and walking on. She ran to catch up with him.

"Come on Malfoy, you really don't think we'll ever be friends?"

"No,"

"So I'm going to live here for the rest of my life, you're my keeper from now until who knows when, and you don't think after all that time we'll be spending together you'll have a soft spot for me?"

"Granger," Draco sighed. He turned to face her. He'd looked at her plenty of times before, but maybe it was because they were outside that she looked different to him. Like he was seeing her for the first time. The sunlight was shining lightly on her face, brightening it up. A soft wind blew wisps of her across her face, which then brought his attention to the tiny freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. This brought him to her lips, which were the perfect shade of pink. And then there were her eyes, chocolate colored, warm, and so easy to get lost in. For the first time Draco realized that Hermione was beautiful. "Maybe…" He finally said. He forced himself to look away from her, and then began walking again. "After a good few long years. But I wouldn't hold your breath,"

"Fair enough," Hermione grinned.

The rest of August passed Hermione by in a blur. Each day was spent in the company of Draco, either reading books in the library, enjoying the day outside, or a combination of both. Once in a while she would go into the music room and plink away at the piano keys and then Draco would smugly show her how it's "really" done. He was actually a quite decent player.

Draco and Hermione's relationship was slowly progressing, though neither wanted to admit it- Draco more so than Hermione. They spoke to each other more instead of always going through the day with as minimal conversation as possible, but when they talked it was without hurling any jabs or insults. They were getting used to the other's presence in their life, and accepted that they were the first person they were going to see in the morning and the last one they would see at night.

Mealtimes with Narcissa, for that was the only time it seemed Hermione saw the Malfoy matriarch, were always a pleasure. She was definitely not the cold hearted snobbish woman Hermione had assumed her to be in the least. Out of everyone in the house Hermione liked her best, and even admired her for the way she took care of her family. Hermione could tell that Draco and Lucius loved her, and held great respect for her. Hermione wished she got to spend more time with Narcissa other than at the dining hall.

Hermione had only seen Voldemort a few times since her arrival. The time between the meetings was so long Hermione had almost forgotten why she was at Malfoy Manor in the first place. The nights when Draco would tell her they'd be spending dinner surrounded by Death Eaters and their master always hit her like a ton of bricks, followed by a bucket of ice cold water. Voldemort really did seem to suck the light and happiness out of everything. Thankfully he didn't say much to her, just politely asked if she was being take care of adequately, to which she would always answer with a shaky yes.

The end of the month came with a dinner meeting of a different kind, however. One Hermione wished she could've bypassed.

That night Hermione and Draco were seated at the elongated dining table before anyone else had arrived.

"Don't look so anxious all the time," he said to her.

"You try sitting next to him for an entire meal," Hermione retorted. "You're welcome to trade spots with me,"

"Like he'd let me," Draco scoffed.

The Death Eaters arrived in groups of two and three, and each of them looked particularly excited this time. The only ones whose expressions remained stoic were Narcissa's, Lucius', and Professor Snape's. Hermione only caught the latter's eye for a second before turning away. She hated him for what he had done. After all those years of giving him the benefit of the doubt, she had no choice but to admit that Harry had been right about Snape.

Voldemort was of course the last to come in and sit down, his snake, Nagini at his side. Hermione shivered every single time he reached his spot at the head of the table, especially when he took a second to glance at her and nod in greeting.

"Welcome, my friends," he called the room to order. "As most of you know, this is a special night, for we have a guest joining us. Wormtail, if you would kindly let her in,"

Hermione watched as Wormtail got up and went out the dining hall doors. When he returned, there was something hovering in front of him. Hermione's stomach clenched as she realized it wasn't a something, but a _someone_.

Charity Burbage. The Hogwarts Muggle Studies professor.

Her body was levitated over the table, slowly passing by everyone seated down. From the small sounds she was making Hermione knew she was alive. Voldemort was saying something, but Hermione barely heard him as fear over what was going to happen took over her. She just stared at her former Professor, not being able to look away. She caught Voldemort say something about Burbage's position at Hogwarts, and her view that muggles and wizards weren't that much different from each other. Hermione could tell from his tone that he was disgusted by the idea, and equally repulsed by the belief that muggles and wizards should mate with each other. He then let out a mocking laugh, and although Hermione didn't remember hearing him say the words, the green light that came out of his wand and Professor Burbage's body hitting the table with a thud told her that he had used the killing curse. Hermione's breath caught, and she froze in her seat, her eyes wide with shock.

She had just witnessed someone die.

There was one of her teachers, lying on the dinner table, still. The woman had been killed without a second thought.

Hermione felt sick.

"Nagini," Voldemort said to his snake as he sat back down. "Eat,"

The humongous reptile slithered its way onto the table, quickly making its way to the body.

Now Hermione knew she was going to be sick- and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Without thinking or caring about anyone else in the room, she shot out of her seat and ran out the double doors. She didn't stop till she made it to the bathrooms and heaved into the first toilet she saw. She closed her eyes and then heard someone let out a choking gasp. It only took her a moment to realize it was her that had made the sound, and that she was the one now sobbing uncontrollably.

_How could people be so cruel? _She thought.

She jerked when she felt a gentle hand rest itself on her back, and looked up to find Draco kneeling next to her.

"Come on Granger," he said softly as he moved the hair out of her face.

"I'm- I'm not going back in the- there," Hermione cried.

"We won't go back in there," Draco assured. "We'll go wherever you want- your room, my room, the library, the music room-"

"Can w-we go outside please? I- I need some air,"

Draco answered with a yes, and helped Hermione off the floor. He didn't let go of her as he walked her out to the garden and to the fountain, sitting her down on its wall and taking a seat next to her. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said.

"Me too," Hermione whimpered, her sobbing now under control and her eyes spilling their last drops.

"Izzie!" Draco called her house elf's name. Izzie popped in front of them a split second later.

"Yes Master Draco?" Izzie said, ready to assist them. She then caught sight of her mistress and immediately went to her side. "What happened to my Miss?" she asked worried.

"Never mind, Izzie. Please just get her a blanket and bring us some food please?"

Izzie bowed and then apparated away.

"Why, Draco?" Hermione said quietly. "Why does he hate us so much?"

Draco was taken aback by her use of his name. It was the first time she had used it. As much as he liked the sound of his name when she said it, he wished it hadn't been under the present circumstances. He also wished it hadn't been followed by a question he wasn't even sure he could answer.

"I don't know…" he said. "He thinks muggles are less than wizards because they don't posses magic, as do many people. And he thinks muggleborns don't deserve to be deemed as equivalent to those of us who have had magic in our blood for centuries,"

"He's not even a pureblood," Hermione pointed out angrily. "And yet he condemns those who are exactly like him,"

Izzie popped back and set down a tray of food between Hermione and Draco, and then she wrapped a dark green blanket around Hermione's shoulders.

"Thank you, Izzie," Hermione said kindly, to which Izzie just lowered her head and popped away again. Hermione grabbed one of the chicken drumsticks that was on one of the plates and began to strip it to pieces. "I just don't get it. If he doesn't want muggles tainting the wizarding world anymore, then why does he want me to create his heir?"

"Beats me Granger," Draco said, swirling his fork through some mashed potatoes. "Believe me, we were all just as surprised as you. The Dark Lord has his reasons, and he keeps them to himself. Very few people are privy to his secrets, and I'm not one of them, which most of the time I'm thankful for. Just think about it this way Granger: Voldemort wants to eradicate the world of muggles, and yet he's keeping you. You get to live, where others will not,"

"Some life it's going to be," Hermione grumbled. She looked up and found Draco looking back at her, his eyes soft.

"You don't have to go through it alone," he said in an almost whisper, the voice he always seemed to use when he said something he only half wanted her to hear.

Hermione gave him a small smile. She knew what he meant, and that alone made the future just a little brighter.


	6. Wet Wet Wet

Draco looked up at the clock for what seemed to be the billionth time that day and tapped his foot impatiently. They'd been gone for hours, and though he had expected them to be out for that long, he really just wanted them home now. Well, really he just wanted Hermione home. He had become accustomed to her being by his side the whole day and now that she wasn't he was bored out of his mind.

_Think Draco, what did you used to do before she came into your life?_ Unfortunately nothing exciting came to mind. So he continued to sit on the couch in the library, trying to read a book.

Narcissa had decided to take Hermione shopping for the day in Diagon Alley. They had transfigured her so that she had dark brown hair with platinum blonde streaks in front, blue eyes, and a facial structure that closer resembled Narcissa's. "I always wanted to look like Rogue," Hermione had commented when she saw herself in a mirror, to which both Draco and his mother had given puzzled looks. "She's a muggle superhero," she had to explain, and then she promised to tell Draco about superheroes when she got back.

This had been five hours ago. Hermione and Narcissa had left promptly at ten and now it was nearing three. Once again Draco looked up at the clock. Only two minutes had passed since the last time he'd glanced at it. He groaned.

"Thinking about me?"

Draco turned towards the library doors and a grin formed on his face.

"Blaise! I haven't seen you in ages!" Draco said as he got up from his spot on the couch and gave his friend a manly hug. "Wait, why aren't you at Hogwarts?"

"Mother decided to keep me home for the year, what with everything going on. She and step-dad number eight might not be death eaters, but they still know what's up. She figured not much learning would be happening at Hogwarts so might as well just keep me home,"

"I see. What brings you here?"

"Home can get pretty boring when you're an only child, but I think you already knew that considering I found you in the library of all places. I'm surprised though, I thought you had someone to share the day with now. Tell me, how is life with Granger?"

"It's not too bad surprisingly,"

Blaise raised his eyebrows at his friend, skeptical about what he had just said. "You mean you two are actually getting along?"

"We didn't at first, but spend enough time with each other and things eventually get easier,"

"Wow, Malfoy and Granger friends, whoever would've seen that coming?"

"No one," Draco answered.

"Where is the bushy haired Gryffindor anyway?"

"Shopping with my mother,"

"Now that's another big surprise. I thought your mother hated nonpurebloods?"

"I thought so too, but for some reason she sees Hermione differently. She seriously treats her like she's her daughter,"

"Maybe she hopes she'll be that one day," Blaise teased.

Draco let out a snort, but he knew he was blushing as he said, "Don't even go there Blaise,"

"Hey," Blaise threw his arms in the air in defense. "I was talking about your mother, I didn't say anything about you,"

"Just keep your thoughts about that to yourself, thank you,"

"Fine, no more making presumptions about you and Granger. Now let's go play some Quidditch, I've been itching to do some flying."

Hermione stepped out of the dressing room and twirled in front of Narcissa. She was wearing an emerald green cocktail dress that had a bateau neckline with straps that met in a deep V at the back.

"It fits perfectly," Narcissa smiled as she admired Hermione in the outfit. "Try on the mauve one next,"

Hermione went back into the dressing room and pulled on a mauve colored sleek mermaid gown that felt so light, and seemed to flow over her like water. It had a bandeau neck line that had braided halter straps that connected in the middle. Hermione just stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself in the dress. She had never worn a gown like this before and she absolutely loved it.

She slowly stepped out of the dressing room to show Narcissa.

"Oh Hermione," Narcissa let out a small gasp. "It's absolutely beautiful. Draco will love this on you,"

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink and she looked away from the woman admiring her. "Why should it matter if Draco will like it?" she asked bashfully.

Now it was Narcissa's turn to redden. She hadn't meant to voice that particular comment aloud. "Forget I said that dear," she said, brushing it away, and turning to the sales patron who was assisting them. "Please pack up this dress, and the emerald one, and the sapphire one for us please."

Hermione didn't want to take off the dress she was wearing. Suddenly all she could think about was what Draco's reaction would be when he saw her in it, whenever that would be.

"You really think he'll like it?" Hermione asked demurely, knowing she was giving herself away with the question.

"Positive," Narcissa smiled.

***

Draco and Blaise had been playing Quidditch out in the field just beyond the back garden for about half an hour now, and Draco was ready to be done. All they were doing was taking turns being the keeper and trying to get the quaffle past each other, but the sun was blazing and beating down on them with no sign of relenting.

"Can we stop and get some water or something?" he asked Blaise.

"I was thinking the same thing mate," Blaise answered, and they both flew their broomsticks to the ground. They walked back into the manor and to the kitchens, where Draco grabbed two glasses for them and then grabbed a pitcher of water from the chiller. They both took a seat at the island and began to drink.

"Only extremely hot days make me want to drink something as tasteless as water," Blaise commented after gulping down half his glass.

"Well that's a shame because water's really good for you,"

Both Draco and Blaise looked up from their seats and saw Hermione walking towards them.

"Granger!" Blaise said as he stood up from his chair and went over to her. He took her hand and placed a kiss on it. "Blaise Zabini at your service,"

"I know perfectly well who you are Blaise," Hermione laughed. "And, at my service huh? I'll have to remember that one,"

Draco rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to push Blaise away from her, he had no reason too, and as much as he wanted to give Hermione a welcome back hug, it'd be the first time he'd done so and just arouse Blaise's suspicion even more, so Draco just stayed put on his stool and greeted Hermione with his usual nod of the head and "Hello Granger,"

"Hello yourself," she replied to him, sitting in one of the empty stools at the island. "What have you been doing all day?"

"I showed up about forty-five minutes ago," Blaise said. "And it was a good thing too because when I got here Draco looked bored out of his mind. I think he'd been in the library all day waiting for someone to get back from their shopping trip,"

Draco gave Blaise a swift jab in the side with his elbow, missing the flit of excitement that had passed over Hermione's face. "I was reading a book," he clarified, though what Blaise had said was true. "How was shopping with Mother?"

"It was great," Hermione smiled. "She reminds me of Ginny, always making me try on an outrageous amount of clothing,"

"It's a shame your mother didn't have a girl Draco, I could be dating her right now," Blaise joked.

"And then I'd have a legitimate reason to beat you up," Draco retorted. "Care to show us what you bought?"

"It's all in my room already. You'll just have to see them when I wear them,"

"Awww, you're not going to model them for us Granger?" Blaise teased, though he was hopeful.

"Yeah right Blaise," Hermione laughed. "So what are we going to do now that I'm back? Or do you boys have plans already?"

"We are free for the rest of the afternoon," Blaise answered for him and Draco. "We just got done playing some Quidditch. It is scorching outside,"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "I have a fun idea. You two put on some swimming trunks, I'll get on my bathing suit, and then meet me outside in fifteen minutes,"

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked, already liking the idea since he'd get to see Hermione in her swim suit.

"It'll be a surprise," Hermione grinned, and then she hopped off the stool and hurried to her room with the two boys following after her.

Fifteen minutes later Draco and Blaise were heading down to the back grounds of Malfoy Manor. "Have any clue of what she has in store for us, mate?" Blaise asked

"Nope,"

"Watch, she really has nothing planned. She just wanted to see us in our swimming shorts,"

Draco snorted. "She's already seen me in a towel, I don't think swimming shorts are that much different,"

"Well then she wants to see me in swimming shorts," Blaise changed his mind, and Draco snorted again. "Come on Draco, besides the fact that I'm tall, dark, and handsome, who on earth could resist this?" He gestured towards his four pack abs.

"I could," Hermione said appearing out of nowhere in front of them. Draco gulped as he took in her deep solid purple one piece swimsuit that had a square neckline and thin spaghetti straps. He wasn't able to admire it for long though, for she pulled out some large plastic object that Draco noticed resembled those contraptions muggles called 'guns'. She then pushed on some sort of pump it had on the front, and Blaise let out a shriek as water spurted out of the object and hit him in the face.

"What the hell is that Granger!"

"It's called a super soaker!" Hermione said with glee before sending a jet of water at Blaise again. Draco was laughing hysterically at his friend who was now soaking wet.

"Nice one!" he said.

"Oh don't think you're off the hook Malfoy!" Hermione quickly turned her super soaker on him and doused him with water.

"Why you little-" Draco began to chase after Hermione, who gave a yelp and started running away. Draco then felt a stream of water hit him in the back, and whipped around. Blaise was standing there with a mischievous grin and holding his own super soaker. "Blaise! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Hey, everyone's on their own mate. There's another one by the fountain. I'd go get it before Granger realizes you're not chasing her anymore,"

"Too late!" Hermione yelled and struck Draco with another burst of water. He ran as quickly as he could toward the fountain and picked up the remaining water gun, ready to attack. "I'm coming for you Granger!"

It was a full on super soaker war as the three chased each other around the garden and shot at each other. Hermione had managed to remain dry and unscathed until Draco popped up from behind her and covered her entire body with water. "Malfoy!" she trilled.

"Gotcha!"

Hermione was still in the process of wiping the water out of her eyes, when another jet of water hit her, this time from Blaise. They had attacked her from both sides.

"This was a great idea for a game Granger!" Blaise said happily. The jet of water he was shooting at Hermione began to subside, and Draco's began to do the same. "Hey, what happened to the water?"

"Aww, looks like you two are out of ammunition," Hermione said giving them a fake sad look. "It's a good thing I filled mine up- along with this one," she pulled out the gun she had been using along with another one. "You guys should run,"

Draco and Blaise didn't need telling twice. They headed in opposite directions, and Hermione, only being able to go after one, chose the platinum blonde. Although she had been right on his heels she had somehow lost him. "Malfoy…" she called for him. All of a sudden she felt a force gently tackle her to the ground and remove both water guns from her hands. "Draco!" she yelled as he straddled himself above her and pointed the guns at her.

"Two guns Granger? Some people would call that cheating," he smirked.

"Get off of me!" she yelled, but she was laughing at the same time.

"Nah, I don't think so,"

"Please?"

"Say the magic words,"

"I thought 'please' was the magic word,"

"It obviously isn't considering that I still haven't let you go. I'll give you a hint, it starts with my name,"

"Malfoy-"

"That's not my name Granger,"

"Fine. _Draco_… would you please get off of me?"

"You're still getting it wrong," Draco continued to badger.

"Ughh, I'm going to be under you for forever," Hermione groaned. Her face turned red after she realized what she had just said, and she noticed Draco's had done the same.

"Getting frisky without me you two?" Blaise said, finally showing up where they were. Draco hastily picked himself off Hermione.

"Just getting Granger to surrender," Draco said, embarrassed.

"Interesting method," Blaise smirked. "Anyway, you're mum called us in, said we have to get ready for dinner,"

"Alright then," Draco said. He was about to help Hermione up, but Blaise beat him to it. As they walked back to the manor Blaise stood between him and Hermione and struck up a conversation with her as if they were old friends.

"How are you liking Malfoy Manor?" he had asked her.

"It's… different. I'm getting used to it. I know where everything is without getting lost, though Draco still has to take me around when those other than his mother are in the house,"

"Of course. Just because the Dark Lord says his minions can't touch you doesn't mean there aren't a few fools that wouldn't try to harm you,"

Hermione shivered at Blaise's statement. For the past week or so she had been wondering if it was really necessary for Draco to escort her everywhere precisely because Voldemort had instructed the Death Eaters to leave her alone. Now she was glad to have him incessantly by her side.

"I assume your favorite place in the manor is the library," Blaise continued.

"Probably, but then again I haven't been to every room in the house. _Someone _here won't let me go past some mysterious doors. Four to be exact. Would you like to tell me what's behind them?"

Blaise eyed Draco carefully, and his friend glared back, letting him know that telling Hermione anything about those rooms, and especially what was below those stairs, would get him a one-way ticket home. "I would if I could Granger," he answered her. "But unfortunately, I know as much about those rooms as you do. Anyway, where'd you get the super soakers?"

Hermione noticed the sudden change in topic, but decided not to go back. "I asked Narcissa if I could go into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, because I wanted to see if Fred and George were there,"

"You mean the Weasley twins?"

"The one and only set," Hermione smiled. "They weren't there, but I took a look around anyway and I found the super soakers. I was surprised they had them since it's a muggle toy. I decided to buy two so Draco and I would have something to do on a sunny day,"

"How did you get the other two?"

"I just duplicated one of the ones I already had,"

"You are one amazing witch you know that?" Blaise said in awe. Draco wanted to puke with the way his friend was flirting with Hermione. He also wanted to punch him.

The trio separated once they got back to their rooms, and Draco told Hermione he'd get her in an hour.

"Man, Draco," Blaise said when they entered Draco's room. "Granger's _hot_,"

"Really? I didn't notice," Draco lied.

"Sure you didn't. I noticed the way you ogled her when she came out in her bathing suit. Not to mention your 'getting her to surrender' tactic. Genius if you ask me. And you were practically bristling when I was flirting with her on the way up. Don't deny it, Draco- you have a thing for Granger,"

"I _do not_,"

"Fine then. In that case, if you're not going to kiss her, then I will,"

Draco ignored the pangs of fury and jealousy raging through him and kept his expression indifferent. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to remove his damp shirt. "Like she'd let you," he smirked.

"We'll just have to find out after dinner," Blaise said confidently as he went into the bathroom, leaving Draco to think about what he had just said.

Hermione stepped into her room and headed straight for the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and took in her drowned appearance. She blushed when she realized her face was still slightly flushed from when Draco had been on her. _Crazy Malfoy_, she thought.

She had to admit, as awkward as it had been to have him over her like that, she didn't hate it. In fact, she almost enjoyed it. It had given her a nice close up view of his chest and defined abs. There was no denying that Draco had an amazing body in addition to his handsome facial features. At that moment there was only one word that came to mind when Hermione thought about him: sexy.

He was sexy, smart, funny, and he had certainly become kinder over the past month. It was a side of Draco Hermione had never had the chance to see before. He was almost marryable.

Hermione groaned at her inner thoughts. When had she gone from hating him to thinking he was worth something?

Not wanting to think about Draco anymore, Hermione instead turned her thoughts toward everything she had bought that day- well everything Narcissa had bought for her that day since she insisted on paying for everything (not that Hermione had any money to spend anyway). While she went over the list, Hermione stripped out of her bathing suit and took a shower.

When Hermione was done she went into her room to find Izzie already laying out a dress for her on the bed. It was the emerald green one she had gotten earlier in the day. She wondered why she would be wearing it, as Voldemort wasn't going to be dining with them that night which meant it would just be a casual dinner.

"Good evening Miss," Izzie said, grabbing Hermione's hand and leading her to the bed. "Mistress Narcissa requested you wear this tonight,"

"Thank you, Izzie," Hermione said as she dried her body off. She then allowed Izzie to help her get dressed and fix her hair. Hermione was putting on some silver dangly earrings when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called.

Draco came in with Blaise right behind him, both in formal attire. Hermione stood up and slid on the silver heels she had been given to wear with the dress. She didn't notice how the two boys were just staring at her.

"You actually knocked this time," she smirked. "Ready then?" she said once the shoes were securely strapped to her feet.

"Um...yeah," Draco stammered. Blaise discreetly elbowed him in the side, and raised his eyebrows at him, silently telling him to say something other than that to her. "You look great," Draco added.

Hermione's cheeks flared a little at the compliment. "Thanks," she said shyly. "You're mother asked that I wear this, though I don't know why,"

"I suppose we'll find out when we get there," Draco said, and he turned to lead her and Blaise to the dining room.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked Blaise quietly.

"He's fine, just a little stunned by you- you look really nice tonight Granger," Blaise said, not bothering to hide the truth. "We should probably follow him, though, or he'll be worried we're up to something." Blaise wiggled his eyebrows as he offered her his arm, and she took it, letting out an amused laugh.

They made their way to the dining hall and Draco had just opened the door a sliver when he suddenly froze.

"Is something the matter?" Hermione asked, wondering why he wasn't going in yet.

"Draco my boy," Hermione heard the voice of Voldemort say, causing her stomach to plummet. She felt Blaise's body tense up next to her, too. "Come in, we're quite ready to eat now,"

Draco stepped into the room and strutted over to his seat as if nothing was wrong and he wasn't surprised by the Dark Lord's unannounced presence. Hermione, and Blaise, followed slowly behind him, with Blaise taking a seat next to Draco and Hermione occupying her usual spot at the head of the table next to Voldemort. It was only him, Narcissa, and Lucius there, and the table hadn't been elongated, so Hermione knew no other Death Eaters would be joining them. This knowledge hardly eased her mind though.

"Mr. Zabini," Voldemort addressed Blaise. "How is your family?"

"They're fine sir," Blaise replied sheepishly and with his head down.

"Good, good. I was hoping I would see them soon, but they seem to be staying out of the public eye these days. Maybe I should pay them a personal visit…"

Hermione saw Blaise's dark face pale at the suggestion. "Ma- maybe sir," he stammered, still not looking up.

Voldemort just gave one of his creepy smiles, and went on to another subject. "I suppose you are wondering why I am here and came without any warning," he looked intently at Hermione, and she wished more than ever that she was invisible. "You will be interested to know, Miss Granger, that the potion we are concocting so that you will be able to contribute to the creation of my heir is nearing its completion. It should be ready for you to take within the next month,"

Hermione's stomach filled with dread at the news. She had been hoping it would take a while for them to create the potion, giving time for someone to rescue her.

"But that information is not the sole reason for my being here. That is, however, how much I care to share with you before dinner," Voldemort finished. He looked away from Hermione and to the rest of the table, and then snapped his fingers. Food immediately appeared in the vacant space, and as usual he instructed Hermione to take her share first.

It was a mainly quiet meal, with words being passed only between Voldemort and whoever he felt like talking to, which happened to be mostly Lucius. Hermione ate with her eyes glued to her plate, not wanting to look up and see the man sitting next to her. She'd never get used to the repulsive figure. As she chewed her food she found her thoughts wandering to hoping that whatever child resulted from this "potion" she'd have to take would look normal. She hoped it was part Hermione and Tom Riddle, and not Hermione and Voldemort. The last thing she wanted was a baby with slits for its nose, and pasty skin.

Dinner finished, and the plates and food dishes were cleared away so that the table looked as empty and clean as it always did. No one made a motion to get up, even though Hermione knew for a fact that at least half the table did not want to be there any longer. It was silent for a moment before Voldemort finally spoke.

"What I have to say primarily only concerns Miss Granger, the rest of you are permitted to leave," he said. Hermione felt instant fear at the prospect of being alone with Voldemort, even if he was just going to speak with her.

Lucius Malfoy was the first to stand up, and although Narcissa looked as if she wanted to stay, he grabbed her hand and took her with him out of the dining hall. Blaise was next, merely giving Draco a pat on the back and nodding at Hermione as a goodbye. Hermione gave him a pleading look, practically begging him to stay, but he just turned and exited the room.

When Draco stood up Hermione thought she was going to have a heart attack. She brought her gaze to the empty spot of table in front of her, not being able to bear watching him leave her there. She could feel a lump growing in her throat from her fighting not to cry, and she bit down on her lip. She waited for the sound of the dining room door to close signaling that she was now alone in a room with Voldemort. Instead she heard the sound of the chair across from her moving. She looked up to find Draco sitting in it, and he gave her a miniscule smile.

He hadn't left.

Relief washed over her, and the lump in her throat subsided. She hadn't been completely deserted.

"Taking your orders seriously I see, Draco," Voldemort said complacently. "Very well then." He stood up and began to pace back and forth across the floor. It seemed this was his preferred way of speaking to people, towering above them while they stayed below in their chairs.

"After the events at the last meeting, I'm sure you are curious as to why I have decided to keep you Miss Granger, considering your apparent blood status. I have made it painfully clear that I despise muggleborns and muggles themselves, and have no reservations about harming, torturing, _killing _them. So what makes you so special? Why am I putting aside my devout beliefs to claim you as the mother of my heir? The truth is I'm in fact not doing that at all. You see Miss Granger, you are not a muggleborn."

***

**A/N**: Hello again and thanks for reading chapter 6 :) I know there are many of you that probably do not like this cliffhanger, and believe me, I was iffy about it at first too just because it is quite a cliché. Just so you know, I wrote up to chapter eight before I started posting this story which meant I hadn't received any reviews saying I should really stay away from something like this. Once I did I couldn't bring myself to change it because of how it made sense with everything else I had already planned. Please bear with me, and please don't stop reading because of it. I'll explain more with the next chapter. Until then, thank you for reading and all of the reviews you've been leaving me! I appreciate them all and they really give me motivation to keep writing :)  
>-Pink Ranger<p> 


	7. Luxurien

Hermione's mind seemed to seize up as she tried to process what Voldemort had just told her.

_What?_ She thought, confused. _Did he just say I'm not a muggleborn?! How is that even possible?_

She glanced up to see Draco's expression. It was just as shocked and abashed as hers was.

"I don't understand," Hermione stammered quietly.

"Of course you wouldn't, you've spent your life thinking you were the daughter of two muggles and no indication or reasons to doubt that you were theirs," Voldemort said. "In actuality Miss Granger, you are the daughter of two of my closest followers: Andrew and Delia Luxurien. Quite a powerful family, and regarded with high respect. You are the last of their line, the last that's free at least. I was good friends with your grandfather. Both of your parents were bright, clever, cunning. I kept them close to me, so very close, and I had great plans for you. This is why it came as a surprise to me when I was told your mother had turned traitorous. She no longer wanted to raise her child under the influence of dark magic and a great wizard such as myself. I was so disappointed. You're mother was like a daughter to me, and to have her betray me was quite a blow.

"I had her killed of course- by your father. I had to imperious him to do it, another painful thing for me to do. You're mother was the love of his life, and he would've rather died than harm her, but I needed him alive, and I needed you. It was supposed to be a fairly simple task, and no one else was to be involved, but unfortunately, you're mother had gone to Dumbledore. She had told him everything she could, and he had granted her absolution and protection. He got to your manor a second too late, but soon enough to have your father carted to Azkaban and to take you away. Your father was sentenced to life in prison, since he was a wanted Death Eater and no one believed his story about being coerced.

"You however, seemed to fall off the face of the world, at least the only world I concerned myself with. I've never denied that Dumbledore is a smart man, and he did one of the smartest things possible when it came to you. He knew I wanted you and that I would be searching, so he put you where he knew I wouldn't look for you: in the muggle world. He handed you to a muggle couple and changed their memories so that they thought you were theirs and always had been. You became Hermione Granger.

"That night at the Ministry two years ago, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you. You were the spitting image of your mother, though your hair wasn't as dark. After all these years, there you were, the girl I had been searching for in vain for so long. And now you are here, fulfilling your destiny as the child of one my most faithful servants."

Hermione was speechless. She literally had nothing to say, and even if she did she knew she wouldn't be able to get it out coherently.

She was a pureblood. Daniel and Jean Granger weren't her parents. Andrew and Delia Luxurien were her parents. One of them was dead and the other was rotting away in Azkaban. They had been Death Eaters. She was the daughter of Death Eaters.

"But…" she found her voice slowly, "You said you came up with that plan after I was brought here…"

"Yes, Miss Granger, or should I say Luxurien. When you first arrived I did make it seem as if you were just an added scheme. But I've had this planned for a long time, a very long time. It just worked in my favor that they brought you here on their own and before I had given my orders, which would have been issued in just a couple months so you know. I didn't feel the need to drop the ball on your blood status on you or them at the time, so I decided to keep it to myself until it needed to be brought to light, which I chose to do now. Only Narcissa and Lucius have been privy to your true identity. You are not the daughter of two muggles, you are the daughter of two high ranking purebloods and death eaters- and that is why I am keeping you."

The room was bathed in complete silence once Voldemort finished.

_Ughh_, Hermione thought in aggravation as she rubbed her forehead. _When did my life become so complicated?_

She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that Hermione didn't realize that Voldemort had dismissed them and Draco was now leading her out of the dining hall by the crook of her elbow.

"Are you alright?" he asked her as they reached the stairway. "Or do you still need my support?"

"I think the banister will be fine," Hermione said back, though she seemed lost.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Then you might as well use me," he gave a small laugh. "Come on Granger, the faster you get up the stairs the faster you can sit back down." He put an arm around her waist and walked with her up the stairs. Once they were in her room he set her gingerly on the bed.

"Well that was some unexpected news," he said, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, you're telling me,"

The door to the room suddenly burst open and Blaise hurried in. "What happened?" he asked.

"We just found out that Hermione's pureblood royalty,"

"What the- how?"

"Turns out she's actually Hermione Luxurien,"

"Please don't call me that," Hermione groaned, falling back onto her bed.

"Are serious?" Blaise said, his voice going up a couple pitches. "As in Andrew and Delia Luxurien? The nearly second in command to Voldemort, a manor twice the size of yours, and galleons up the yin yang Luxuriens?"

"The one and only," Draco said.

"Wow Hermione, you're the richest teen in the world!" Blaise's eyes bulged. "So what are you going to do now? Change your name, claim your inheritance?"

Draco grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and swiftly struck it across Blaise's head. "What's the matter with you?" Draco berated. "She just found out her whole life's been a sham and all you can think about is her money?"

"Sorry, you're right, I'm being completely insensitive," Blaise apologized.

As if on cue Narcissa, popped her head into the room. "Blaise, you're mother just flooed me and said she would like you home now dear,"

Blaise nodded to Narcissa and then turned back to Draco and Hermione. "Well it was a great day- thanks for the fun Hermione," he smiled, even though Hermione wasn't looking at him. "I guess I'll see you two later."

Blaise left the room leaving only Draco and Hermione together. Draco lay down on the bed next to her, not sure what to say or do. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah," was the short reply he received.

"Do you want anything?"

"Actually some sweets would be great,"

"Wren!" Draco called, and Hermione heard the familiar _pop!_ of a house elf apparating into the room. "If you would please get Miss- Hermione and I some sweets from the kitchen?"

"Yes, right away Master Draco," Wren said and then was gone.

"Feel like having a sugar rush?" Draco asked, but Hermione didn't answer his question. She had turned over and was looking at him thoughtfully.

"You said my name," she said.

"Well I wasn't sure what to call you, considering you're technically not a Granger, and you refuse to be called Luxurien. I decided Hermione was the best way to go,"

"It's always been the best way to go Malfoy," Hermione laughed.

"Hey if I'm going to call you Hermione, then you have to call me Draco. It's only fair,"

"Fine, from now on I'll only call you Draco,"

"And I'll call you Hermione," Draco affirmed. "You don't know how weird that sounds," he chuckled, and Hermione joined him.

A few seconds later and Wren appeared with a platter of all sorts of candies.

"Thanks Wren," Hermione said, grabbing some gummy frogs and tearing the bag open. She then stood up and went over to the CD player on her desk that Narcissa had gotten for her. They had fixed it so it was powered by magic that way it would work. Hermione pushed the play button and then sat back on the bed. "Music soothes me," she explained to Draco, who looked confused by her actions.

"This song sounds like it's supposed to do more than just soothe," Draco quipped, noticing the seductive tone of the melody.

Hermione let out a laugh. "You're right. Songs like this are what muggles affectionately call baby making music. I just happen to like this CD, and this song is first on the playlist,"

"Who knew Hermione Granger had a sensual side," Draco teased.

"Okay, I'm switching the CD," Hermione said, jumping off the bed.

"Aww, I was just getting into that song," Draco whined.

Hermione rifled through her stack of CDs searching for one that she felt like listening to and was also Draco friendly. "On second thought," she said when she didn't find one she was in the mood for, "Why don't we go into the music room and you play something on the piano for us? That would probably be more distracting, and that's exactly what I need at the moment,"

Draco shrugged. "Okay then,"

They gathered all their sweets onto the platter and Hermione carried it as they made their way to the music room on the third floor.

"And what would you like me to play for you, _Hermione_?" Draco asked, still feeling awkward with the use of her name.

"How about Canon in D?" She said as she took a seat in one of the lounge chairs and set the platter of candy in front of her.

"Johann Pachelbel's Canon coming right up," Draco saluted her, and he placed his fingers on the piano and began to play.

Hermione closed her eyes as she let the piano music enter her ears and through the rest of her body. This had always been her favorite classical piece, and it was the one she envisioned herself walking down the aisle to when she got married. Hopefully she'd still be able to do that one day. And hopefully her family would be there- Harry, the Weasley's, and her _real _parents.

Never in her wildest dreams did Hermione think she'd have to use that term for the two people who had raised her. Technically she should be calling them her _adoptive _parents, but that just didn't seem right. She had spent her life with them, not this Andrew and Delia Luxurien Voldemort had just told her about. The Grangers were and would always be her real parents.

Hermione's ears perked up as she noticed that the piano was no longer the only instrument being played. The violins and cello had joined in, creating the full symphonic effect the song deserved. She opened her eyes and jumped when she saw that Draco was standing in front of her. He had charmed the piano keys, and also the other instruments, to play on their own.

"Dance with me," he said, holding out his hand for her to take. She smiled and placed her hand in his, allowing him to lift her off the chair and into his arms. They began to slowly, and carefully, waltz around the room, Hermione following Draco's lead.

"I think I figured out why my mother likes you so much," Draco said as he twirled Hermione around.

"And why is that? Because she knew all along that I was a pureblood?"

"No, because you're mother was her best friend. She has a picture of her somewhere. I found it once a few years ago when I was going through things I shouldn't have been. It was of my mother and yours sitting together with us on their laps. I showed it to my father and he told me who it was, and then he told me to put it back from where I got it from before my mother killed me-"

"And I would have," Narcissa said from the doorway. Hermione and Draco quickly let go of each other. "Do you mind if I steal Hermione for a bit Draco?"

Draco motioned for Hermione to go with his mother, and after giving him a smile she obliged. Narcissa walked Hermione over to the terrace they had on the third floor, and they sat on one of the benches they had set up.

"I'm sorry you had to find out about your true parentage from him, Hermione," Narcissa began. "I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure how. What Draco said was true, your mother was my closest friend and I cared for her very much. She helped me get used to the changes a life married to Lucius Malfoy brought. I understood completely why she wanted to turn her back on our ways, and I nearly did the same. After what happened though, I knew it wasn't an option. I am still proud of her for having the courage to go through with it though, even if it meant ending her life. She got what she wanted for you, a life away from the influences of the Dark Lord. I want you to know that your mother loved you above all things, and she would've done anything for you,"

Narcissa then pulled out her wand and said, "_Accio box!_"

A box the size of a fat textbook whizzed towards them and Narcissa caught it in her hands. "Your manor is still standing, and is being used as a vacation home. Most of the personal items were sold when your father was put in Azkaban, but I took the liberty of removing some of your mother's treasured items for safe keeping," Narcissa explained. "It may be a little soon to be showing you all of this, considering you just found out about Delia tonight, but I've been waiting since the night you got here to be able to give these to you. If you'd rather not look at them right now, I understand, but I'll still entrust this box to you,"

"I…I don't know what to say," Hermione breathed. "I suppose there's no harm in starting to learn my parents history now," she said, though still a little unsure. Narcissa took this as the signal to go ahead however, and she excitedly opened the box up.

One by one she pulled things out and showed them to Hermione, and placed them carefully on the table. First there was a masquerade mask encrusted with diamonds and sapphires. Her mother had used it to a Christmas ball Hogwarts had had while she was there, and it had been her first official date with Hermione's father.

Next was a silver bracelet with seven charms: a large D for Delia, a coiled up snake to represent Slytherin, an A for Andrew, a book for her love of reading, an H for Hermione, an eighth note for her love of music, and a diamond heart given to her by her husband. "There's room for one more," Narcissa said as she handed it to Hermione. "So think of something good to put on it." As Hermione looked at each charm she couldn't help but think how alike her mother and her were, making her feel a little more connected to the woman she couldn't remember.

After the charm bracelet Narcissa took out Hermione's mother's Head Girl Badge, which Hermione accepted with pride. "I know it seems odd that a Slytherin was a Head, but Delia had plenty of admirable qualities worthy of the position," Narcissa told her.

Next came a golden quill that her mother had used all through Hogwarts, and a white gold bookmark that had been given to her by her grandfather and she only used for books she was reading on her own.

"Now _this_," Narcissa said, pulling out a single white rose that still looked completely fresh and alive, "Is the rose your father handed your mother the night he proposed to her. He said he'd love her till the last petal of this rose fell. Delia thought it was an odd declaration, but accepted it anyway. She kept it in a vase on her vanity mirror and expected it to wither in a few days, but it never did. Andrew had enchanted it to never die, signifying his eternal love for her." Narcissa wiped away a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. Hermione could tell she was thinking about something, but whatever it was Hermione didn't find out, for Narcissa kept going with the unveiling of her mother's belongings.

She brought out a green velvet jewelry box and opened it to reveal a white gold band with a solitaire, round cut diamond in the middle, and a plain white gold band accompanying it. "This was your mother's engagement and wedding ring. I know from all the other stuff I've shown you it seems that your mother liked lavish things, but she did appreciate simplicity. Your father wanted to get her rings encrusted with so many diamonds you wouldn't be able to tell there was a band holding it all together, but I convinced him otherwise,"

Hermione carefully took the jewelry box from Narcissa and admired the rings sitting inside. They were beautiful, and exactly what Hermione would want in her wedding rings. They looked so perfect in their place in the box that she had to resist the urge to try them on. It wouldn't have felt right.

"I know that this stuff may not have any meaning to you right now Hermione, but I hope that it may mean something to you in the future. Your mother loved you, and she would've loved for you to have these things. I have one last thing to give you," Narcissa said as she lifted out of the box a small book. She tapped it with her wand, causing it to grow to a normal size, and Hermione realized it was a journal. "This was your mother's diary while at Hogwarts. She didn't write in it daily, but she made sure to record the important things that happened in her life. It starts with her first year of Hogwarts up till the end of her seventh year. She had too much on her plate to take time to write after that. Please take the time to read it. Better to get to know your mother through the pages of a book than through nothing at all,"

"Thank you," was all Hermione could manage to say as Narcissa packed everything back up into the box and placed it in her lap. She suddenly felt overwhelmed. There in her possession were the invaluable treasures of a stranger, and she wasn't exactly sure what to do with them.

"I'll take my leave now," Narcissa said standing up. "Would you like me to walk you back to the music room?"

"No, it's fine," Hermione replied. "I know my way,"

Narcissa smiled and then left Hermione on the terrace. Hermione just sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the closed box in front of her, trying to get used to the idea that she now had two sets of parents instead of just one. She shook her head to clear her thoughts when it all became too much. Knowing that Draco was probably waiting for her still, she got up and headed back to the music room.

He was practicing Tchaikovsky's Waltz from Sleeping Beauty when she walked in, but stopped once he heard her enter. "What did my mother want?" he asked.

"She had some stuff to give me," Hermione said, pointing at the box in her hand. She set it on the ottoman next to the lounge chair and then took a seat.

"Anything interesting?"

"All of it's interesting," Hermione gave a small laugh. She opened the box and started to take things out and show them to Draco.

"You would've been spoiled rotten," he commented.

"I suppose so," Hermione said, as she pulled out the velvet box containing her mother's rings. "This was my mother's engagement ring and wedding band," she told Draco.

"Funny how she went simple on the most important piece of jewelry, don't you think?"

"Actually, you're mother said that my mother preferred simple things, that's why my father chose them for her,"

"Hmm," Draco mused. "You should try them on,"

"What? I couldn't- they're not _mine_,"

"Sure they are Hermione. They were your mother's, and now they're yours. Who else is going to wear them?"

Hermione shrugged, knowing Draco was right. When she didn't make a motion to do anything, he took matters into his own hands and removed the two rings from the box.

"Come on Hermione, it's not like your mother's going to come in here and scold you for trying on her rings, " he joked as he took her left hand and slowly slid first the engagement ring on and then the wedding band.

"Asking me to marry you Draco?" Hermione said playfully, though her voice shook a little. The moment Draco's skin had touched her she felt a tingle go through her and her stomach do a somersault.

"If I did it would be a waste of time, considering you have your heart set on marrying the Weasel," Draco said, and Hermione couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, for his expression had remained plain as always. He obviously wasn't having the same reaction to their hands touching as she was. He lifted her hand up to the light for her to get a good view. "See? Perfect fit,"

Hermione admired how the rings looked sitting on her ring finger. It was as if they belonged there. She sighed, knowing that she couldn't leave them on, as much as she wanted to. She grudgingly began to take them off.

"Why are you taking them off? Leave them on," Draco said, pushing her right hand away from her left.

"I can't do that! I'm not married or about to get married," Hermione chuckled.

"You're right, that does pose a problem," Draco admitted. "I guess we'll just have to find another way for you to wear them,"

"So can I take them off now? Or will you attack me again?"

"I didn't _attack _you, and yes, you can take them off," Draco said, holding the box for her to put the rings back in. Hermione slid the two bands back off her finger and placed them in their velvet home.

"Hermione Luxurien…" Draco mused as he looked at the box of jewels and trinkets. "Who would've thought?"

"Nobody, that's who," Hermione scoffed. "You know this doesn't change anything. I still think he's terrible for what he's trying to do and there's no way I'm ever joining him,"

"I didn't expect you to. This is just one more mystery solved as to why you're up here and not-" Draco stopped himself before he went any further.

"And not…?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Not being taken care of like you were going to when you first got here,"

Hermione could tell it wasn't what he was originally going to say, but she decided to take it. She wasn't in the mood to face Draco's irritation at her prying into things he didn't feel she needed to know.

"What makes you think I want to marry Ron?" she asked, bringing them back to his earlier statement.

"Well… you kind of said his name in your sleep this morning when I came to wake you up," Draco said, causing Hermione to blush. The dream she had that morning of her and Ron sitting on a bench, and him leaning over to kiss her, came back to her.

"How do you know I wasn't yelling at him for something?"

"Were you?"

"No," she answered. Hermione couldn't lie to him, even though for some strange reason she wanted to. An odd thing had happened in her dream that she hadn't expected. When Ron kissed her she had quickly broken away from him. When he looked at her with a confused expression, that was when she had said his name. For some reason, kissing him had felt wrong, like she had been betraying someone else by doing so.

Hermione had just shrugged it off as a silly dream though. After all, who would she be betraying? She wasn't _with _anybody.

"So what do you want to do now?" Draco asked, quickly changing the topic.

"Play me Sleeping Beauty please," Hermione requested, forgetting about her dream.

"As you wish." Draco returned to his seat at the piano and began to play. Hermione stretched herself out on the lounge chair and closed her eyes, giving a yawn. It had been a long day, and now all she wanted to do was relax and forget about everything for a little bit. Soon she was completely asleep.

Draco finished his song, and then looked at Hermione, catching her sleeping form. Shaking his head he got up and went over to her, scooping her into his arms. Then he carried her to her room, the box of her mother's things levitating behind him. He set her down in her bed and then covered her up with her blanket. He smiled at how peaceful she looked, considering everything that had happened over the course of the day.

Draco was about to leave when he had an idea. He went over to Hermione's vanity desk where he had set the box down, and lifted its lid. He pulled out the white rose she had shown to him and conjured a vase for it. He placed it inside and then set it on her bed stand next to her. He then conjured a tiger lily and after placing an enchantment on it so it wouldn't die, set it next to the white rose.

"Sweet dreams Hermione," he whispered before quietly leaving the room. He'd never openly admit it, but he hoped that her dreams would be filled of him, and not that stupid Weasel.

The next week passed by without any consequence. Hermione and Draco did the usual: library, music room, or outside. They had even begun to use the Shifting room, where Hermione would teach him some of the muggle sports she knew. Blaise joined them a few days, when he was able to get away from home. He and Draco were becoming quite partial to football, especially since it involved keeping the ball away from Hermione. Although she would never tell them, they were already better at it then she was.

Other than that, Hermione spent most of the time reading her mother Delia's journal, and was surprised by how alike they were. They were both avid readers and studied like crazy to get the best grade possible in all their classes. The only class her mother didn't care for was divination, which caused Hermione to let out a laugh when she read it. Her mother also didn't like flying and thought boys talked about Quidditch way too much.

She got along with mostly everyone, and was considered the most amiable Slytherin. She had three close friends: Narcissa Black, Annika Haven, and Sadie Quinn. They were all in her year and had been friends since their first year. Narcissa was obviously her best friend and confidant, and if she needed anything she would go to her first. The only boys she was close to were the ones Narcissa had mentioned she had been friends with: Jerrick Richter and Christopher Dupont.

Apparently before she was a Luxurien she was a Ditiae, the second most powerful pureblood wizarding family. This caused some of the girls in her house to be jealous of her, most notably Philantha Candor, because of her wealth and unintentional command of those around her. All the boys wanted her, to her dismay, but she didn't particularly care for any of them. She knew they only cared about her bank account and the bragging rights that would come from dating her.

The section of the journal Hermione found particularly interesting was Delia's sixth year. By this time it was obvious Jerrick harbored a crush on her, and she was slowly starting to grow to like him as more than just a friend. Delia was frustrated by the fact that he wasn't acting on his feelings, even though everyone could tell he wanted to.

_I don't understand why he won't just ask me out,_ Delia had written. _There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up and it would be great if we spent it together… just the two of us. But I'm not going to be the one to step up, he's the man, he should do it. Onto a different topic- Andrew's being a prick again,_

Hermione sat up and paid more attention to what she was reading. It was the first time her father had been mentioned, and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed his absence before._ He thinks that just because he has the biggest Gringott's vault that he owns the school and everyone in it. Today he actually ordered a first year Slytherin to carry his books for him and follow him to all his classes. I stopped it of course, and he didn't even try to stop me. He just smiled and winked at me and told me I was beautiful. And then he offered to walk me to class. The nerve of that boy...Now that I think about it, I don't think I've mentioned Andrew in here before. Well, to make a long story short: I hate him. He's so annoyingly arrogant and rude to everyone around him, especially Gryffindors. Don't know what his problem with them is, he takes house rivalry way too seriously…_

Hermione's mother certainly didn't make the long story short. She spent the next five pages, front and back, describing how much she loathed Andrew Luxurien and wished he would go away. Apparently they'd known each other since they were kids, being part of the two greatest pureblood families, and they hadn't always gotten along due to the fact that they were always trying to one-up each other. He was just as smart as she was, and at the end of each school year there was always a bet about who would come out on top. He always had a snide remark reserved for her when they passed each other, which she refused to return.

_I don't know what this new game he's playing is, but it's not going to work. Probably just trying to distract me by being nice to me. Whatever Andrew._

As Hermione kept reading her father's name began to appear more often. Delia's encounters with him began to be more frequent, and she noticed how he no longer said anything crude to her, but instead complimented her. When Christmas came he actually gave her a gift: the charm bracelet with the diamond heart.

_I don't know what's happening to me. I used to feel nothing but contempt when he was around, and now I get all nervous and fluttery. Sometimes I even forget my words! He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend, and I said yes. I said yes! What was I thinking? I hate him… okay, maybe I don't hate him anymore. I mean, if I hated him I wouldn't be wearing the bracelet he gave me every day. I guess he's not that bad… he's nice to me, and he has this smile that makes me lose all thought, and on the days that we have potions together he offers to hold my book bag, and his eyes are so blue you could paint the sky with them… Ugh, it's official- I've gone off the deep end. I mean, I'm sitting here writing about all the good qualities of Andrew Luxurien! You know what Cissy told me today? She said that he practically worships the ground I walk on. How am I supposed to resist that?_

Hermione just had to laugh as the relationship between her parents began to grow.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked one day when they were sitting out on the terrace, each lost in their own book.

"Andrew kissed Delia for the first time, and she's cursing herself for letting him do it. She's fighting the fact that she's in love with him,"

"Is there something not to love about him?"

"He's arrogant and rude when it comes to everything but her. They actually used to hate each other, and Delia's still trying to get past that. He already loves her with a passion, and I can tell she loves him too, but for some reason she's still holding onto the hope that Jerrick will make his move,"

"Sounds like a dilemma, though we obviously know what the end of the story is,"

"Yeah… I guess it is possible," Hermione chuckled.

"What's possible?" Draco asked.

"For two people that dislike each other to fall in love and be happy together,"

"I think some of the best relationships start out that way. And you appreciate each other more because you were able to get passed the other's faults and find something deeper that was worth loving,"

"Not to mention your pride," Hermione added. She looked up at Draco and noticed that he was staring back at her. She wondered how long he'd been doing that. He quickly turned away and stared into the sky instead.

"Well Hermione, you have a grand day tomorrow, so we should probably head to bed,"

"What's so special about tomorrow?"

"Are you serious?" Draco said, bewildered. Hermione looked at him confused, clearly not knowing what he was talking about. He gave a small laugh. "It's your birthday Mione," he told her.

"Oh!" Hermione noised, it finally dawning on her. "I guess I just forgot what day it was,"

"The Brightest Witch of Her Age forgets her own birthday," Draco snickered.

"Hey! It's not like the days of the month matter around here at the moment. And how did you know tomorrow's my birthday?"

"My mother told me. She was there at St. Mungo's the day you were born and never forgot it,"

"That's sweet. You know, I still find it weird that my family and yours were so connected. Who knows, maybe if things had turned out differently you and I would be BFFs right now,"

"If only, if only," Draco said as he stood up from his chair. "Come on, let's go. Mother will kill me if you fall asleep at any point tomorrow,"

Hermione picked up her mother's journal and followed Draco back to their quarters.

"Night then," she said to him, giving him a hug.

"Night," he replied, returning her embrace.

They immediately froze as they realized what they were doing. They had never hugged each other before, and they had just done it as if they had been doing it their whole lives. They hurriedly let go of each other and after quickly saying a final goodnight, they entered their rooms and shut the doors.

_Crap_, Hermione thought. Life with Draco was starting to get _way _too natural.

***

**A/N**: Hey :) I hope you liked this chapter, despite all its clicheness. I just didn't think it made sense for Voldemort to be keeping Hermione if she was the embodiement of everything he despised. So... I had to make her a pureblood. You'll learn more about Hermione's family in the next coming chapters :) Thank you for reading and your amazing reviews!

-Pink Ranger 


	8. Happy 18th

"Good morning sunshine," were the first words to greet Hermione the next morning. She felt a shift in the weight of her bed as whoever had spoken sat down on it.

"Happy eighteenth birthday!" they said excitedly.

_That's right…_ Hermione thought. _Today's my birthday. Another year of my life gone._

She grumbled and opened her eyes to find Ginny smiling next to her.

"Come on," she said, "Everyone's downstairs waiting for you."

Ginny helped Hermione get ready for the big day ahead of her, fixing her hair, make-up, and picking out the perfect outfit. Soon they were making their way downstairs to the dining room.

As they stepped down the many flights of stairs, it finally hit Hermione that she wasn't at the manor- she was at the burrow. And it was Ginny that had woken her up and was now walking next to her, not Draco. When and how had she been saved? She couldn't remember…

The closer they got to their destination however, Hermione began to forget about her confusions and apparent memory lapse. It didn't matter. She was back where she belonged and with the people that loved her.

They had reached their final set of stairs, and the moment they could be seen they were met with a joyous and eruptive, "Surprise!" When Ginny had said everyone was waiting for her, she hadn't been lying. At the front of the group were Harry and Ron, cheering away and beaming. Around them were all the Weasley's, including the newly added Fleur. Then there was Hermione's parents standing with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid. Behind them were Luna, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, and various members of her family. Everyone Hermione loved was standing in one room. She felt like she could cry.

But despite how euphoric she was suddenly feeling, she also felt like there was something missing- like there was someone missing.

Draco wasn't there.

Hermione's happiness began to slowly dissipate, and be filled instead with sadness. She couldn't remember saying bye to him. Had she even had the chance?

Hermione realized that Ginny was trying to tell her something, so she turned to her friend. Ginny was holding a large birthday cake, covered with lit candles.

"Time to get up Hermione," she said. "There are presents for you."

As Ginny said this it seemed as if she was slipping away from Hermione, along with everyone else.

"Wait," Hermione stretched her arm out to them. "Don't go!"

"Wake up Granger. You can't stay asleep all day on your birthday,"

Hermione woke with a start, opening her eyes to the familiar walls and ceiling of her room at Malfoy Manor. Draco was kneeling up against the bed next to her, his hand on her arm from trying to shake her awake.

"Morning Birthday Girl," he said with a grin. Hermione gave a sleepy smile back to him as she sat herself up against the headboard. "Seems like you were having a good dream there, what was going on?"

Hermione tried to recall the event she had just unconsciously experienced. "I was at the burrow," she said as it began to come back to her. "Harry, Ron, my parents, the Weasley's- they were all there for my birthday, and I was so happy." Hermione smiled. "But…then I got sad because I realized someone was missing. You weren't there, and I really wanted you to be." Hermione wasn't sure why she wasn't having more reservations about telling him this, but for some reason she was just spilling it out. "The dream ended after that," she finished, aware that she was blushing quite furiously. She had just woken up and already she was embarrassing herself.

"Seems like someone's become attached to me," Draco teased lightly.

"It was a dream Malfoy, we all know how unreliable those are," Hermione attempted to play it off.

"Oh, back to last names are we?"

"You used it first," Hermione pointed out. "_Wake up Granger, you can't stay asleep all day on your birthday,_" she imitated him.

"Fine then, we're even. And for the record, I do not sound like that," he laughed. "Now up, up, up. Mother wants us downstairs by nine,"

"I thought you said I had presents,"

"And you do. I never said you would get to open them right away," Draco smirked.

Hermione drew her eyes into slits and shook her head. "You little tease,"

Draco just smiled. "One of my many talents," he said as he pulled the blanket off of Hermione and then lifted her out of the bed and onto her feet. "Now go get _ready_,"

"Okay, okay!" Hermione squealed as he put his hands on her shoulders and ushered her into her bathroom.

Hermione emerged fifteen minutes later fresh faced, and with her hair and make-up ready for the day ahead of her. Izzie was at her closet, picking out her attire for the day. She pulled out a yellow sundress and paired them with a pair of white wedges.

Draco was nowhere to be seen, so Hermione assumed he had left to his room or somewhere nearby. Either way he would be back soon for it was only a few minutes to nine, and he hadn't failed to escort her down to breakfast, or any meal for that matter, yet.

Sure enough Draco stepped into her room, without knocking of course, just as Hermione was strapping on her shoes.

"Ready?"

"Yes," she answered him, and was about to follow him out the door, when she stopped herself. "Hold on a second,"

Draco watched as she went back to her vanity table and opened the box of her mother's things. She carefully rummaged through it before pulling out the charm bracelet.

"Would you mind?" she asked him, holding out the bracelet to him. He smiled and took it from her hands, and then he clasped it around her wrist. "Thank you,"

"Anytime," he said as he wrapped his arm around hers and led her out of the room.

Together they walked down to the dining hall, where Narcissa was already seated, and much to Hermione's surprise, Blaise was too.

"Hermione!" he jumped out of his seat and ran over to give her a hug. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks Blaise," Hermione grinned happily, returning his hug. Suddenly, the hug she and Draco had shared the night before came back to her, and she wondered if the act would repeat itself today. It was her birthday after all, a perfectly acceptable excuse to give someone a hug when you didn't usually do so.

Narcissa embraced Hermione after Blaise was done with her, and then asked them all to sit down. Breakfast was a delicious batch of chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream, which Narcissa had somehow found out was Hermione's favorite.

"Now, time for your first birthday surprise!" Narcissa said excitedly once they had finished eating, and beckoned them all to stand up. "We're going to apparate there, and since you don't know where we're going Hermione I'll need you to hold onto Draco's hand,"

Hermione did as she was told and shyly took hold of Draco's hand, which he had reached out to her. As always, some sort of electric current seemed to pulse through her at the feel of his touch. His hand was soft and warm, and she tried hard not to think about how they seamlessly fit together, as if they were pieces of the same puzzle.

"We'll go on three," Narcissa said, bringing Hermione's focus off of her hand in Draco's and to wondering what his mother had in store for her. "One, two-!"

"Wait! Aren't you forgetting something if we're going to leave the manor?" Hermione asked, pointing to her face.

"Oh, right," Draco said, and he pulled out his wand and performed the spell to transfigure Hermione's face into a more Malfoy-esque one. Hermione wished she wouldn't have to look like someone else on her birthday, but she knew it had to be done. "Thanks for reminding me,"

Hermione clutched on to Draco's hand as they apparated away, not wanting to accidentally be separated. Being splinched was not how she wanted to spend her birthday.

They landed in the middle of a crowded piazza and Hermione let out a gasp. They were in Italy, the wizarding part of Italy. Hermione knew this because besides the fact that they had just apparated there in plain sight, there were owls flying above, and people around her were wearing robes, and yet not far to her left was standing the great Colosseum. Somehow in the middle of Rome they had managed to hide a large magical community.

"Wow…" Hermione breathed. "This is amazing,"

"I knew you would love it," Narcissa smiled happily.

They spent the rest of the day sightseeing, going wherever Hermione wanted to go. They went through the Colosseum, the Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican. They stopped to eat lunch at a traditional Italian restaurant and took time to sit and enjoy some gelato, which Hermione made the mistake of saying she would love to eat everyday for the rest of her life (Narcissa decided on the spot that that would be arranged.) Their last visit was the Mouth of Truth.

"This place has a very significant role in your history Hermione," Narcissa began to say. "Right here in front of this sculpture your father proposed to your mother on April 24, 1977,"

"Her birthday," Hermione noted. "How did he do it?"

"He had the ring box sitting inside the mouth, and then he told her that he loved her, and then he asked her if she loved him. She said yes of course, and he asked her to prove it by putting her hand inside the mouth. As usual she thought he was being silly but decided to humor him anyway, so she put her hand inside and found the box. When she pulled it out she opened it, and was of course very surprised. Andrew asked her to marry him and she said yes,"

"How romantic," Hermione smiled. "Too bad she didn't continue writing in her diary after Hogwarts, that would've been a nice memory to read,"

"It really would've been," Narcissa mused. "Maybe your future husband will ask you in the same way,"

Hermione wished she would've missed Narcissa's gaze flicker between her and Draco, but she unfortunately did, and apparently he did too, for they both turned away from each other. The woman sure had a knack for making things awkward.

"Well," Narcissa said, "it's time for us to be heading back to the manor now. It's almost five"

"I never want to leave," Hermione sighed happily as they made their way back to the apparition point. "Come on, Draco, Blaise, we should just move here together,"

"As tempting as it is Hermione, I doubt the Dark Lord would allow you or me out of England permanently," Draco chuckled.

They made it back to the manor and Hermione was promptly taken away to her room by an excited Izzie. There was obviously more planned for the rest of the night than Hermione thought. The small house elf made sure her mistress was bathed and groomed perfectly, and then had her put on the mauve dress Hermione had bought with Narcissa during their shopping trip.

"Mistress Malfoy instructed Izzie that this is what Miss should wear tonight," she beamed.

"Am I allowed to ask why I'm being dressed so elegantly?" Hermione questioned.

"Izzie isn't to tell Miss. Izzie is to only get Miss ready and then Master Draco will come and get her,"

Must be something special, Hermione thought anxiously as she put some earrings Narcissa had put with the outfit through her single set of piercings. With everything regarding her appearance complete, Hermione stepped in front of the full length mirror to take a look at herself. She loved what her reflection was showing her. For one of the few times in Hermione's life she felt she was someone others would find attractive. If only Harry and Ron could see her now.

_At least Draco will_.

That last secret thought caused Hermione's stomach to suddenly fill with butterflies. What would he think of her?

***

Draco put on the dress robes he was to wear for the night, and gave a small chuckle. Who would've thought in a million years that he'd be getting ready to celebrate Hermione Granger- or Luxurien's- birthday? Over the past month and a half everything had changed when it came to her. She had gone from being the mudblood he despised to the girl he looked forward to seeing every day. She had become closer to him than some people he'd known for years, and he knew more about her than he ever would've thought possible. She had been right, all this time together had turned them into friends; that hug they had given each other inadvertently the night before had proved that. Though he probably wouldn't admit that to her for a while.

He went over to his nightstand and opened the drawer where he was hiding her gift and took it out. Looking up at the time he noticed that he had less than ten minutes before he and Hermione would be expected at the ball room. He quickly made his way over to her room, and without knocking allowed himself in.

"Are you ever going to politely ask to be let in?" Hermione rolled her eyes. She was sitting at her vanity table, putting her charm bracelet back on.

Draco shrugged. "Probably not. But we can argue about that later, right now I need you to stand up and close your eyes so I can give you your present,"

"Draco Malfoy got me a present?" Hermione raised an eyebrow teasingly as she got up from her stool. "I hope it's not something poisonous,"

"And here I thought we were passed the accusations and animosity," Draco joked in return, but he suddenly found himself speechless.

With her standing upright, Draco was able to fully see Hermione in her dress, and for a moment he seemed to lose all thought. The only word forming in his head was 'gorgeous', but that didn't even seem to adequately describe the way she looked. Everything about her was perfect.

"Is something the matter?" Hermione asked, and he noticed a blush crawl up into her cheeks.

"It's just-um- your dress, it's beautiful," Draco stammered, trying to create a coherent sentence.

"Oh this thing?" Hermione said, swishing the bottom of it awkwardly in front of her, "I got it the day your mother and I went shopping, she asked me to wear it tonight,"

"My mother has good taste," Draco said as he stepped towards her. "Now close your eyes,"

Hermione did as she was told, albeit nervously, and then felt one of Draco's hands wrap around her upper arm. He led her to the opposite side of her room, and then stopped. "Wait right here. Do not- I repeat- do not open your eyes or turn around,"

"So demanding you Malfoys are," Hermione playfully mumbled. She began to feel anxious with anticipation as she waited for Draco to come back to her. She knew he hadn't left the room, but he was no longer close enough for her to feel his presence.

She jumped as he was suddenly behind her and she felt something cool go around her neck.

"You can open your eyes now," he said softly, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.

Hermione flicked open her lids and then gave a smile when she noticed the new addition to her ensemble. Around her neck was a white gold chain, and dangling from it above her chest were her mother's engagement and wedding ring.

"I told you we'd find a way for you to wear them," Draco smirked.

"Thank you," Hermione said, running her finger along the chain. "It's perfect. Now I can wear them all the time,"

"As you should. Now, let's go before my mother comes up here wondering what we're doing,"

Draco interlocked Hermione's arm with his and then escorted her out of her room and towards the stairway.

"You look nice too by the way," Hermione said, complimenting his formal attire.

"What are you talking about? I always look nice," Draco winked. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and carefully stepped down the stairs, not wanting to trip over the hem of her gown. They got to the landing and her feet were prepared to head in the direction of the dining hall, but they were surprisingly steered to their right by Draco's instead.

"Where are we going?"

"Mother decided your birthday should be celebrated in the ballroom," Draco said casually.

"The grand ballroom? But it's only going to be me, her, you , and Blaise- that room's much too big for the four of-" Hermione cut her sentence short when it finally dawned on her the reason why they would be in the ballroom tonight. "No… no, no, no, no, no! Please tell me your mother didn't do this!"

"Do what?" Draco gave a sly smile. Before Hermione could protest he opened the doors to the ballroom, pressed his hand to her back, and lightly pushed her in.

"SURPRISE!"

Hermione's ears were accosted by a loud chorus of the word, streaming from the mouths of many people who looked more or less the same age as her. Some of them she recognized, others were complete strangers.

"Happy Birthday Hermione!" Narcissa squealed from her spot at the front of the throng.

Hermione seemed to be in a daze. This was not at all what she had been hoping for or expecting, but there was no getting out of it now.

Narcissa came up to her, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Please don't be too upset. I just really wanted you to have the eighteenth birthday you deserve, even if it is with many people you don't know. They're not all bad, so don't brush them aside too quickly. Just have fun, okay? Draco and Blaise will be here with you, and I'll be just a house elf away if you need me,"

"Alright then," Hermione said, her voice slightly shaky, still overwhelmed by everything that was going on. Narcissa gave her a smile before leaving the room.

"Well Hermione, welcome to your party!" Blaise said loud and excitedly, and everyone cheered.

"Don't look so scared," Draco chuckled. "They don't bite… hard,"

Hermione shot him a deathly glare. "I'm kidding!" he quickly defended himself. "But seriously lighten up, this is your party. Now, time to meet all your guests,"

"Joy," Hermione said lowly.

Draco took her hand and began leading her towards the crowd, which was making a gap for them to walk through. People said hi to her and some even bowed as she passed by, but all Hermione could seem to do was stare at them. At the end of the sea of people she saw an ornate looking chair elevated on its own platform.

"Am I supposed to sit there?" She asked Draco.

"Of course you are. This is your throne, and I mean that literally. Mother had it brought over from your family's manor a few days ago,"

"My list of possessions just keeps getting bigger,"

"And being that it's your birthday, it's not going to stop anytime soon." Draco escorted her up the stairs of the platform and then stepped over to the side of the chair as Hermione sat down in it.

"Am I just going to sit up here all night?"

"No, just for a little while. Everyone's going to line up- see they're already doing it- and one by one they're going to introduce themselves to you and then present you with their gift,"

"You purebloods are so formal," Hermione noted in amusement.

"Hey, don't forget, you're a pureblood too," Blaise said, joining the two of them. He had a scroll of paper in his hand.

"What's that?"

"This is the list of everyone at this party. I get to check off whether they've properly introduced themselves and bestowed you with a gift,"

"Formal and prideful," Hermione snickered. Draco and Blaise just shook their heads and then beckoned for the first of the guests to come up to her. It was a less pug-faced, and ebony haired Pansy Parkinson.

"Happy Birthday Grang- _Luxurien_," she said, bowing her head slightly and then placing a small gift box kindly into Hermione's hands.

"Thank you," Hermione said in return. "Do I open it now?" she asked looking up at Draco, but she received her answer from Pansy herself, who took the gift back and then set it behind the chair.

"No, you'll open them later. I'll be collecting them for you until then,"

Pansy had said all this with a slight smile, which surprised Hermione. Up until then Pansy held nothing but disdain for her, much like Draco had. Hermione wondered if this was just a charade she was putting on for him. She didn't have time to dwell on it however, for Blaise had called the name of the next guest, which Hermione didn't hear, and the girl was already making her way to her.

As if reading her thoughts, Hermione was startled when she heard Pansy's voice whispering in her ear. "This is Kiara Ripley. She is the daughter of Aaron and Margaret Ripley, and they're fairly new money. She's always looking for ways to up her status, so be careful around her if you're actually looking for a friend,"

"Happy Birthday Miss Luxurien," Kiara said as she bowed her head and extended her arms out to present Hermione with her gift. Hermione said thank you and accepted it, and then Pansy took it off her hands. Like Pansy had hinted, when Kiara looked at Hermione she had this overly sweet smile on her face that made Hermione want to cringe. "I do hope you like what I chose for you. Please, come talk to me when you're done here," she said before curtsying and leaving so the next person could come up.

Hermione turned towards Pansy and snorted. Pansy returned it with a look that said "I told you so," and then beckoned her to greet her next guest.

"Stellan Alcon!" Blaise called.

Stellan was a good looking young man, and tall, but well built. He had dark features and tanner skin than most of the others in the room.

"Stellan goes to Durmstrang and is one of the Quidditch captains over there," Pansy began to tell Hermione as he walked up to her. "Rumor has it that he may be a father soon,"

"How scandalous," Hermione quipped.

"For Purebloods? Very,"

"Happy Birthday Miss Luxurien," Stellan smiled. He bowed and then took her hand, placing a kiss on the top of it. He then handed her gift to her, and then gave one more bow before making way for the next person.

"Phillip Koell!"

"Phillip's the illegitimate child of Colton Koell and some unknown woman," Pansy whispered, "Technically he shouldn't be here, but his step-mom is close friends with Narcissa,"

Hermione sat and smiled as the routine repeated itself again: Phillip kissed her hand, presented her gift, and then stepped away. This was how it continued for the next half an hour as the guests were called by Blaise and then introduced themselves to Hermione, all while Pansy told her some interesting tidbit about them. Hermione was beginning to wonder how many people she'd seen when the next person made his way to her.

"Isaac Peren!" Blaise called out. A young man with jet black hair that could rival Harry's began strutting up to the platform towards Hermione. He had a light tan skin tone, and was Hispanic looking, and even though he had dress robes covering him, she could tell he had muscles. He was so handsome Hermione immediately felt embarrassment by just looking at him.

"Happy Birthday Miss Luxurien," he greeted her just like all the others, placing a soft kiss on her hand. "The descriptions people gave of you before today did not do you justice. You're more beautiful than I could have imagined,"

"Thank you," Hermione replied, trying not to smile too widely. She was positive her cheeks were pink.

"Ahem," Blaise coughed. Hermione looked up at him and his eyebrows were raised. Next to him Draco was standing still, his face stoic, and staring off in any direction but at her and Isaac Peren. "You are lucky guest number one hundred Peren!" Blaise continued.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.

"It means I get to do this," Isaac said, and before Hermione could blink his hands had cupped her face, and his lips were pressed against hers, forcing them to move together as one. _What in the world…?_ Hermione thought as she tried to pull her head back. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but in that time she swore he had been able to slip his tongue in there.

As they parted Hermione couldn't help but stare at him. "You lot have interesting customs," she breathed.

"That we do," Isaac smirked, his deep brown eyes staring directly into Hermione's. "Your lips tasted wonderful," he said smoothly as he began to take her hand again to place another kiss on it. Before he could bring it to his lips however Draco had placed a hand on his shoulder and was steering him off the platform.

"That will be all for your introduction Peren," he said icily.

"I'll see you on the ballroom floor for the first dance Miss Luxurien," Isaac winked.

"Actually, sorry to burst your bubble Peren, but _Hermione _will be dancing with me first,"

"Actually…he gets to dance the first slow song with her mate," Blaise confirmed. "Its tradition, you know that,"

Hermione could see Draco's face begin to harden. "Well screw tradition," he spat. "I'm-"

"Draco, can I talk to you over here for a second?" Pansy suddenly interjected. "Blaise, if you would kindly take over the gift receiving for a moment, I'm sure you can handle the pressure of two jobs,"

Blaise gave a small chuckle and nodded. Hermione just watched the four of them, unsure of what had just happened. Isaac was walking back into the crowd of people smiling, and Pansy just dragged Draco off somewhere to have a word with him about who knows what. Blaise was trying hard not to laugh, and Hermione had an idea why, but the thought that she might be wrong kept her from being too smug about it.

"Mila Vexen!" Blaise announced the next person, and the meet and greet continued.

***

"You're doing a great job of masking your feelings," Pansy scoffed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco said calmly, sliding his index finger against the polished wood of one of the side tables outside the ballroom. Pansy had taken him there to talk about something, and he was sure he knew what it was. He would not be letting her in on his little secret though, at least not yet. He still hadn't fully admitted it to himself.

"Draco, I'm not stupid, though people would like to think I am,"

"I still don't know what you pulled me out here for Pans,"

"You know exactly what I brought you out here for," Pansy snapped. "I love you Draco, and I need you to be careful. You know how the Dark Lord is when it comes to his…_things_. I know of his plans for Hermione, and I don't want anything to go wrong- for our sakes. So don't mess things up Draco. Stints like what you just did in there can't happen. If he becomes suspicious that's there's anything going on between you two other than you being her keeper,_ you'll _have to pay the consequences. Although I'm not thrilled with your object of affection- which you can keep on denying, but I won't buy it- you just need to hold off for now. Once she's served her purpose, that's when you can have her, okay?"

Draco didn't even look up as Pansy went through her monologue, but he listened to it. He hated the fact that she was right.

"Can we go back in now?" he groaned.

"Yeah," Pansy answered him, and they began to walk back into the party.

"Pans?" Draco said before they made it to the platform. "Thank you. And please don't tell her,"

"Your not so secret's safe with me," she smiled softly before going to take her spot next to Hermione again.

Draco went back to his spot on the platform next to Blaise and watched as Nick Mantis introduced himself to Hermione. Draco could tell she was getting bored and told Blaise to hurry it up so they could get to the actual partying, to which Blaise willingly obliged. Soon they were all done and Hermione had met everyone in the room.

"Great," she said. "Now I just have to remember all of their names,"

"No you don't," Pansy grinned. "They just have to remember yours. You're the one with the influence and the power. You're the top of the hierarchy and everyone here are your subjects- except for Draco of course, but even that's subjective."

"Thanks Pans," Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well Hermione, ready to get out there and have some fun?"Blaise asked.

"No, but I don't think that will stop you guys from getting me out there,"

"Not a chance," Draco said as he pulled Hermione out of her seat and out onto the dance floor. "You're going to love this. Blaise!" he called to his friend, getting his attention. Blaise nodded his head and flicked his wand through the air. Draco turned his face to Hermione to watch her reaction as the symphony that had been playing for the past hour disappeared, and four large speakers popped into every corner of the room. A second later, music started to boom from them.

Hermione's face was shocked, her eyes wide. It soon relaxed and instead was lit up with a huge smile. "You're playing muggle music at a pureblood party?" she said.

"Why not?" Draco grinned back her. "It's catchier than the stuff we have." He then took her hands in his and they began dancing to the fast beat. Everyone in the room joined them, deciding they liked the music that was playing.

***

It was strange for Hermione to be spending her birthday partying in the midst of people she had learned to dislike for so long. Yet she here she was, dancing with death eaters' children and pureblood extremists- people who would hate her if she hadn't happened to be the progeny of a family they honored. She was actually even having a good time. Those around her were smiling and not showing any animosity towards her, which she had expected they would. Being respected, and dare she say, feared, certainly had its perks.

Hermione stayed close to Draco and Blaise, and Pansy was around most of the time too. It was the first time Hermione had been around the girl without being insulted, and she liked the change. She watched the way Draco, Blaise, and Pansy interacted with each other, and it reminded her a lot of Harry, Ron, and herself. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how alike they were to each other. They were two boys and a girl who enjoyed each other's company and cared for one another. Draco and Pansy seemed to have some sort of a sibling relationship, much like hers and Harry's; Draco and Blaise were best friends like Harry and Ron; and judging by the way Pansy's gaze would linger on Blaise for moments longer than necessary, she felt for him in a similar way that Hermione felt for Ron. Draco's friends and her friends were the same- they just thought differently about certain things.

The four of them stopped dancing as the song that was playing began to fade, and was replaced by a slower one. Hermione became excited as she immediately recognized the tune. "I _love _this song," she said ecstatically.

"I know," Draco said his voice sullen. "That's why I made sure it played first,"

Hermione was wondering why Draco seemed upset about it when Isaac Peren materialized next to her. "I believe I have the honor of dancing with you first Miss Luxurien," he smiled. Hermione glanced over at Draco, but he had already been whisked away by Pansy. She hesitantly took Isaac's hand and he wrapped his arm around her waist, and then placed her other hand on his shoulder.

"How are you liking your party?" he asked her as he swayed her to the beat of the music.

"It's different from how I thought I'd be celebrating it. Much more magnificent, that's for sure,"

"We'd expect nothing but the best for the only daughter of Andrew and Delia Luxurien,"

"I suppose so," Hermione said.

"This is some interesting music,"

"It's muggle music. I'm guessing Draco went through my CDs and chose all of the songs he knew I'd like,"

"CDs?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione laughed. "You wouldn't know what those are would you?"

"I'm afraid not," Isaac laughed. "You'll just have to enlighten me sometime. Do you and Draco spend a lot of time together?"

"I live in his manor, we spend every day together," Hermione chuckled. She let out an "Oh!" as Isaac unexpectedly spun her around and into a dip. She wasn't quite sure what to do as he held her in his arms and looked into her eyes.

"Maybe…you could spend one of those days with me. I'd really like to get to know you," he spoke in an almost whisper. His face was so close he could've kissed her again if he wanted to. Hermione really hoped he didn't, as enjoyable as the first one was. She heard the song end and Isaac slowly lifted her back onto her feet.

"What do you think?"

"We'll see," was all Hermione could say. She had let go of his hand but his arm was still around her.

"Hermione!" she heard Pansy call from not too far away. Soon she was at Hermione's side, Draco beside her. Isaac immediately disconnected himself from Hermione's body. "Would you accompany me to the bathroom?" Pansy asked.

"Um… sure," Hermione answered, leaving with Pansy. She thought they would have to leave the ballroom, but there happened to be a lavatory in the back corner of the room. Pansy let Hermione walk in first and followed after.

"I don't really have to use the bathroom," Pansy said the minute the door was closed and they couldn't hear anything but themselves. "I just really wanted to talk to you,"

"Alright then," Hermione said prepared for whatever insults Pansy was going to hurl at her.

"First of all, I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did all those years, and I'm not saying this just because you're one of us now. I was young and stupid- I'm actually still young and stupid- but I'm trying to change. I was hoping we could start over and try to be friends,"

Hermione looked at Pansy with a skeptical expression on her face, which Pansy noticed right away.

"I'm not doing this for Draco, Hermione," she said. "I'm doing it for us. You'll need someone other than Narcissa and the boys keeping you sane for the rest of your life, and I just need a girl friend without ulterior motives,"

It was a few moments before Hermione was able to form a reply. "You're right," she finally said. "Draco and Blaise are amazing, but it'd be great to have another girl around, and if you're willing to start over then I should be too,"

"Friends?" Pansy said, sticking her hand out for Hermione. Hermione took a breath, nodded, and took it. "So…you and Isaac Peren seem to be getting along," Pansy cocked an eyebrow.

Hermione snorted. "He's _very _forward,"

"That he is," Pansy laughed. "But other than that he's a good guy. Don't get too close though, he and Draco don't especially like each other, pureblood rivalry and such. If you want one you'd eventually have to sacrifice the other,"

"I'll…keep that in mind," Hermione said, though she was curious as to Pansy's reasons for bringing up Draco. Was she that transparent?

"Speaking of Draco we should probably get back to the party. We've been gone over five minutes,"

"I think I'm going to stay here for just a couple more," Hermione said. "Enjoy the silence for a bit,"

"Suit yourself," Pansy shrugged. "Just don't take too long or Draco might think you died, in which case he'd be dead too,"

"Thanks Pansy," Hermione smiled as she left the room. Hermione leaned herself up against the bathroom counter and laughed. She had just agreed to be friends with Pansy Parkinson. The one she and Ginny had secretly referred to as the Slytherin bitch. _Well, she's best friends with Draco and Blaise. If they like her how bad can she be? _Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the presence of someone else entering the bathroom.


	9. Happy 18th Part Deux

Hermione watched as a girl with olive skin and wavy golden brown hair stepped into the bathroom. She was wearing a skin tight, strapless, black dress that went to her knees, where it flared out into a ruffle. Hermione was wishing she could pull off something like that when she remembered the amazing dress that she was wearing. The girl shot her a smile before disappearing behind one of the stalls.

Hermione searched her mind frantically for the girl's name, but it wasn't coming to her. In fact, she couldn't remember meeting this girl at all. The girl looked strangely familiar though, like she _had_ seen her before. _Like you wouldn't remember someone that gorgeous looking, _Hermione thought. Deciding that it wasn't worth fretting over and that she'd probably spent enough time standing in the bathroom, Hermione made her way to leave.

"Wait," the girl stopped Hermione, stepping out of the stall. "You're the birthday girl,"

"Yes, I am," Hermione replied back with a small grin. The girl smiled back and proceeded to the sink to wash her hands. "Did I meet you earlier? I'm sorry, you look familiar but I can't remember your name,"

"Well I'm sure you met a lot of people today, and chances are you're not going to remember many of their names," she said sweetly. "But don't worry I'm not offended, or at least I _wouldn't _be, considering that I didn't introduce myself to you. I came late because I had some business with my godmother to attend to. I look familiar to you because I have the feminine version of my brother's face, who you did meet. I'm Ithaca Peren,"

"Isaac's sister," Hermione said in understanding.

"His twin unfortunately," Ithaca said, bored. "I saw him dancing with you. He seems already quite taken by your presence,"

"I'm sure it was nothing," Hermione stammered, her cheeks going rosy.

"Let's hope so," Ithaca said bluntly as she checked her makeup in the mirror.

Hermione was taken aback by her statement and its tone. She suddenly felt uncomfortable with this girl.

"So, all these changes must be driving you crazy- finding out you're not a Mudblood but the purest of purebloods. How are you liking Malfoy Manor?"

"It's… different," Hermione answered, trying to be polite and ignore the derogatory term Ithaca had just used.

"Which room are you staying in?"

"The room next to Draco's," Hermione said, confused as to why she was asking such a question.

"Hmm. I used to spend my Summers here, along with my brother. We stayed in the guest rooms at the end of the fourth floor, though I didn't spend many nights in my room." Ithaca smirked at her last comment, as if remembering some memory.

"So you're close to the Malfoy's then?"

"Very close. And we just might be getting closer in the next couple years,"

Ithaca looked over at Hermione and smiled at her in a way that could only be described as impish. She finished fixing herself up and headed for the door.

"It was nice meeting you Miss Luxurien. The gift my brother gave you was a joint one from him and me, so don't expect anything else. And one other thing, I don't like when people get in my way- remember that,"

Before Hermione could say anything in response, Ithaca was out the door, the sounds of the other guests having a good time sneaking into the room and reminding her that she needed to be out there too.

"I'd watch out for her if I were you," a portrait of Katherine of Aragon on one of the wall's said.

_Great, _Hermione thought with a huff.

Draco had never gotten along with Isaac Peren, and there he was, flaunting the fact that he got to dance with Hermione first, and to the song Draco had meant for them.

"Draco…" Pansy warned, trying to get his attention off the two of them. "It's one dance, just let it go,"

So for the next three minutes Draco tried hard just to look at Pansy and nowhere else in the room. The second the song ended he searched for Hermione. They had only been a few couples away from her and Isaac, but it seemed he had danced her into some other part of the floor. He soon spotted them, Hermione dipped lowly in Isaac's arms and his face merely centimeters away from hers.

"I'll take care of it," Pansy said quickly, making her way to Hermione. Draco followed behind her.

"Hermione!" Pansy called. Draco watched as Isaac lifted Hermione back up, but didn't fully let go of her. The minute he and Pansy were close enough to see, Isaac removed his hand from her waist. "Would you accompany me to the bathroom?" Pansy asked. Hermione agreed and they were off. It hadn't exactly been what Draco had had in mind, but it was good enough.

"Malfoy," Isaac said cooly.

"Peren," Draco replied equally so. They glared at each other for a second before turning in opposite directions and walking away. Draco found Blaise and they went over to the drink table to wait for Pansy and Hermione.

"Looks like Peren's trying to get a little comfortable with your girl," Blaise sniggered.

"First of all, she's not my girl," Draco said taking a swig of his drink. "Second, like hell he is." He looked towards the girls' bathroom, waiting for the door to swing open to reveal Hermione and Pansy.

That was when he saw her. She was laughing like she hadn't a care in the world next to Mila Vexen and a few other people he knew she used to spend her time with.

Draco elbowed Blaise hard in the side. "When did she get here?" he asked him.

"Who-? Oh…_her. _I'm not sure; she wasn't here for the introductions though. I figured she was still away or something, didn't know she had returned,"

"Neither did I," Draco said bitterly. He was still staring at her when she turned and caught his eye, sending him a smirk that could match his any day. They only held each others' gaze before she turned away again to continue talking to Mila.

"You think she'll come talk to you?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know. Should I want her to?"

"Probably not, but then again I'm biased since I never really liked the girl,"

"Hello boys," Pansy said, showing up next to them having returned from the bathroom. "Hermione will be out in a couple minutes, she just needed sometime away from the party. Now, who were you two talking about?"

"Guess who's back," Blaise said instead, deciding to turn this into a game for Pansy.

"Really, Blaise?"Pansy groaned. "Ughh… okay, is it Bellona Hansen?" Blaise shook his head. "Loren Ardor?

"Nope," Blaise said. "Think Pansy: she hasn't been here for a year, she was friendly with Draco, I don't particularly care if she falls off a cliff-"

"How nice of you Blaise," Draco scoffed. "She wasn't that bad to you,"

"Are you kidding me? She 'accidentally' put nuts, which we know I'm allergic to, into that batch of cookies we made and didn't tell us, 'accidentally' caught my hair on fire, and 'accidentally' let slip to Elexus Kraftor that I was the one who caused her skirt to fly up during her fourteenth birthday. Yes I definitely love that girl,"

"Wait, are we talking about who I think we are?" Pansy said, raising her eyebrows. When Draco nodded she gave a short laugh. "This is going to be interesting. Where is she?"

"She was over there talking to Vexen, but I guess she went somewhere else now- What?" Draco said, noticing that both Blaise and Pansy's eyes were looking at something behind him.

"Hello Draco."

Draco turned around to face the girl he had let go only one year before. She hadn't changed much, if anything she had just grown more beautiful. Her hair and skin were still golden, and her eyes were still brown as chocolate; and the close up sight of her still caused a hitch in his throat.

"Ithaca," he finally managed to say.

"I was wondering if you had forgotten my name for a moment," she gave a small laugh. She then faced Blaise and Pansy and said hi to them. Blaise just grunted and turned away, while Pansy acknowledged her with an obviously fake smile.

"Dance with me," Ithaca said to Draco, taking the glass he had in his hand and setting it on the table before dragging him into the middle of the dance floor. Draco hadn't even noticed that another slow song had begun to play. It was another song he had meant to dance with Hermione to, but once again he wasn't doing that. However, he didn't exactly mind his current dance partner.

"When did you get back?" he asked her.

"About a month ago, I've been meaning to come see you, but my father told me to just wait until tonight. He said you would be worrying about other things. I didn't find out till last night that those things included housing Hermione Luxurien. Had I known that I would've come here _much _sooner,"

"And why is that?"

"To make sure I still hold the space in your heart behind your mother. I do hope that hasn't changed." Ithaca looked up into his eyes with a penetrating gaze. He hated when she did that; he couldn't seem to think clearly when she did.

"I thought we both agreed that it was best we didn't continue our relationship," he said to her, though his voice was barely above a whisper. They were no longer dancing now, just standing in position in one spot.

"Just while I was away," she answered back. "It didn't mean forever. Nothing can come between us Draco, you know that."

The song came to an end and Draco released her from his hands. He wasn't sure what to say to her, for at that moment Hermione's face came to the forefront of his mind.

"Hey Draco!" Blaise called to him, forcing him to look away from Ithaca. "It's time to cut the cake."

Draco nodded. "I'll see you later," he said quickly to Ithaca before following his friend, leaving her alone in the middle of the dance floor.

When Hermione left the bathroom she wondered why she had let Pansy leave her there in the first place. She had forgotten that when she came back out she'd have to find her, Draco, and Blaise, and pass a bunch of people who may or may not like her along the way. It made her uncomfortable the way they all turned to look at her when she walked passed them. It didn't help that only a couple minutes ago she had been warned by one of them to "not get in her way," whatever that was supposed to mean.

She successfully reached Pansy and Blaise, who were standing close together and whispering something to each other, while looking at something going on out on the dance floor.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked them. She looked to see what they were staring at, and her face fell when she saw Draco dancing with none other than Ithaca Peren. "Who is she?" she said, deciding to play dumb for a moment.

"Ithaca Peren, Isaac's sister and Draco's ex-girlfriend," Pansy said.

_Ex-girlfriend…She failed to mention that, _Hermione thought. She then remembered what Ithaca had said about staying at Malfoy Manor, _"We stayed in the guest rooms at the end of the fourth floor, though I didn't spend many nights in my room." _ And then she had smirked. Jealousy, which Hermione thought she would never link with Draco Malfoy, suddenly coursed through her.

"She's not our favorite person," Pansy continued. "Blaise particularly doesn't care for her," she chuckled.

"Then why was Draco with her?"

"We didn't tell him until after she left, though I'm not sure it would've made a big difference,"

"That's what you think," Blaise retorted. "There's no way Draco would choose her over me,"

"I always knew you two were secret lovers," Pansy teased. Blaise told her to shut up.

"So you said she left?" Hermione started again.

"Yeah, she moved to Australia with her mother- her parents are divorced. She and Isaac went to Durmstrang together, but after the separation was final she moved with her mother and continued school over there. Blaise and I had our own private celebration to commemorate the event," Pansy grinned.

Blaise grinned himself at recalling the event, and then took a glance at the watch on his wrist. Suddenly he had either of his hands on Hermione and Pansy's shoulders and was ushering them towards the dance floor. "You two should get back to dancing,"

Pansy looked at him curiously and then quickly said, "Yes, we've been standing here for far too long." She took Hermione by the hand and took her into the group of people. Clearly there was something going on Hermione didn't know about.

Five minutes later she found out. The music was stopped and Pansy was leading her back to her throne on the platform. Everyone's attention was then brought to the ballroom doors, which were slowly opening. There was a gasp as four house elves walked in carrying a large, four-tiered, cream colored cake, decorated with tiger lilies. Narcissa, Draco, and Blaise were right behind them.

Hermione just sat in her chair and covered her face with her hands, laughing. She felt her hands being removed from her face, and smiled when she saw that it was Draco standing before her. He too had a big smile on his face. He swished his wand in the air and all the lights went out. Not a moment later the cake was lit up with the flames of numerous candles.

"On three!" Narcissa shouted. "One, two , three- Happy Birthday to you…"

Hermione continued to laugh with embarrassment as the room was filled with the sound of everyone singing to her. She always found it awkward to be the center of attention during these things.

"Make a wish," Draco whispered into her ear as the song came to its conclusion, causing her to jump.

Hermione took one last look at the magnificent candlelight before standing up. She took a deep breath and then thought, _I wish Voldemort didn't need me to create his heir, _then she blew out all the candles, repeating her wish with each new puff of air.

Everyone cheered and clapped, and when she was done Hermione looked down at her guests and smiled. She unintentionally found Isaac Peren in the crowd and he winked at her, causing her to blush. As if noticing the small gesture, Draco quickly grabbed Hermione by the hand and brought her back to her seat. "You get the first slice. Which tier do you want it from?"

"The top one, please." A second later a house elf placed a perfectly cut slice of cake from the top tier onto her lap. It was marble, covered in cool whip, and had a single tiger lily sitting on it. She picked the tiger lily up and upon examining it realized that it wasn't a real flower.

"The flowers are made of sugar," Draco told her. "So you can eat them too,"

"Thank you," Hermione said. "For telling them what my favorite flower was,"

"It wouldn't be your cake without them, now would it," he said, taking a seat on the step in front of her and digging into his own slice. Blaise and Pansy joined them as they sat there eating. At the same time every guest came to get their own slice, acknowledging them with a "Happy birthday Miss Luxurien," before going back to their own spot in the room.

"Happy birthday Hermione," Isaac greeted her when he came up. "I hope I'll be sharing more of them with you,"

Pansy placed her hand firmly on Draco's shoulder, making sure he didn't get up.

"Thanks," Hermione responded with a smile. "We'll see what happens next year,"

"You is holding up the line sir," one of the house elves told him, and after sending a final wink Hermione's way, he left.

"Those Peren twins are sure annoying," Blaise murmured, at which both Draco and Pansy snickered.

"One of them isn't too bad," Hermione said quietly, not looking up from the bite of cake she was about to take. If she had she would've seen the daggers Draco was currently staring into the back of Isaac Peren's head.

The music soon started up again, and being done with their cake Hermione, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy returned to dancing. The second the first notes of a slow song started to play, Draco grabbed Hermione by the hand and pulled her to him. "Finally, I get to dance with you," he said.

"It's not like you haven't danced with me before,"

"It wasn't your birthday before. Now, please tell me you love this song too,"

"I love every song that's played so far, though this is personally one of my favorites,"

"I thought so, you listen to it all the time,"

"Noticing things about me Draco?"

"We spend every day together, of course I do," Draco said as he twirled her around.

"When did you even have time to go through my music?"

"While you were in the shower the other day. I'm surprised you didn't even notice that half of your CDs were missing. I got the rest today,"

"You snuck into my room without my permission?"

"It's my house Hermione, I can do what want," he smirked, and Hermione playfully hit him on the shoulder.

All of a sudden the music came to an abrupt halt, the song not even halfway through. Draco and Hermione looked up, confused. There was some protesting and complaining from the party guests, wondering why it had stopped, but all noise quickly dissipated as their eyes were drawn to the ballroom doors. Hermione's stomach churned over.

Voldemort was standing there, Bellatrix Lestrange at his side, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy behind him, and a few Death Eaters Hermione didn't care to know the names of behind them. He began to walk towards where Hermione and Draco were, his steps heavy and echoing throughout the eerily quiet room.

"Breathe Hermione," Draco had to whisper into her ear, noticing that her chest had not risen since Voldemort started heading her way. Draco gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go.

"Happy Birthday, Miss Luxurien!" Voldemort said a little too gleefully for Hermione's taste. Seeing him in a good mood was a lot more disturbing than seeing him in a displeased state. He lightly took hold of her hand, and began leading her to the platform. "Come. I do hope you're enjoying the festivities. I remember your mother's eighteenth birthday like it was yesterday, and a great day it was. I see you have acquired her throne, which is quite appropriate as it was given to her on her eighteenth birthday as well,"

Hermione merely nodded her head at the proper times and tried not to look at him. Voldemort's hand felt strange, rough, and clammy in hers, and she couldn't wait for the moments when it'd be free again. He thankfully let go once they were at the platform and he had seated her in her chair. The other Death Eaters had followed faithfully behind him and had taken to standing in the spots where Draco, Pansy, and Blaise had been previously.

Hermione felt surrounded and uncomfortable in the midst of them, especially since she was sitting while they still towered over her. While most of the Death Eaters were stoic in expression, Bellatrix Lestrage looked livid, and like it was taking all her will to not curse someone. Hermione looked around in the crowd of guests for the familiar face of Draco. She came in contact with his grey eyes and kept her focus there, and he too kept his gaze on her. Doing this was something she had secretly decided on not too long ago; that as long as she knew Draco was there she'd be fine. It worked every time they had a dinner in the midst of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"I'm not sure if you are aware Miss Luxurien," Voldemort began to say, "But there are many traditions in noble Pureblood society, and now that you are here with us I fully intend you to take part in all of them. The one you will be taking part of today is the _Notam Generis_- or the brand of the family, though the Latin version sounds much more sophisticated in my opinion,"

_Brand? _Hermione shuddered. _I'm going to be branded? _She suddenly remembered the part of her mother's journal talking about her eighteenth birthday, and the passage where she mentioned being branded rang through Hermione's mind.

_In the middle of the party Grandfather came in to mark me with the Notam Generis, on my inner left wrist of course, just like mother and everyone else. The Ditiae brand looks like this: It's a perfect circular laurel wreath with the greek symbol for "D" in the center. The wreath is supposed to represent power and victory and the D is obviously for our surname. Grandfather was beaming the entire time and I felt so proud to be part of the family. It stung of course, but I tried not to show it. It still kind of hurts now, but it's worth the pain, and that won't last forever. Now when I look at my wrist I remember who I belong to and where my loyalties lie. Even after I get married it will still be there as a remembrance of where I came from. Grandfather also said that it shows others who I am. If anyone dare try and cross me I just have to flash them my family crest and that will settle any scruple. I can't wait to show Andrew._

Hermione wondered how she could've glossed over such an important event.

"How fortunate you are to be here with us during your eighteenth birthday, the day when the brand is bestowed upon those of noble pureblood ancestry," Voldemort continued. _Yeah fortunate, _Hermione mumbled in her head. "We would've honored you with it anyway even if the day had already passed, but it's much more meaningful when it's given on the day it's supposed to, don't you agree Narcissa?"

"Yes my Lord," Hermione heard her say.

"Lucius, if you would please," Voldemort said, motioning for the elder Malfoy to come forward. Hermione still hadn't taken her eyes off Draco, but the moment Lucius closed his fingers over her wrist Hermione's instincts kicked in and she shot her eyes up at him, and she couldn't seem to look away. His face was like stone- emotionless. He didn't look at her as he stretched her arm out to its full extent and then brought the tip of his wand to her inner wrist. Hermione wanted to move out of the way, but it was as if she was frozen to her chair. All she could do was watch the spot where Lucius was pressing his wand.

"_Inuro!" _he said, and immediately Hermione felt her skin being burned. Not wanting to scream she clutched the arm of her chair with her other hand. Lucius had moved his wand along in a fluid motion, making the shape of a figure eight. He then pressed the wand once again to the center of her wrist and said "_Luxurien," _then he removed his wand from her skin. The area burned for a moment more before subsiding into a mere sting.

Hermione stared at her wrist, which Lucius still had sitting on his hand, and watched as an image began to appear. Stretching from edge to edge was the infinity sign, dark and prominent against her pale flesh. Lucius bent over to look at it closely, twisting her wrist from side to side.

"It is done my Lord," he said, giving Voldemort a curt nod and releasing Hermione. He then rejoined his wife at the side of the throne.

The moment he let go of her, Hermione rubbed the marked spot with her opposite thumb, wanting the stinging sensation that was still coursing through it to go away. She brought her wrist closer to her view and noticed that it wasn't just simply an infinity sign. The symbol was composed of groups of other Greek symbols, with smaller infinity symbols separating them.

"That is the Luxurien Crest, Hermione," Voldemort spoke. He was standing right next to her, but Hermione kept herself from looking up at him. "An infinity symbol constructed with the words _power, purity, _and_ perfection_- all in Greek- and of course your surname. Everything your family stands for,"

Hermione couldn't stop staring at the image imprinted on her skin, the words Voldemort had just said repeating in her mind. _Power, purity, perfection, power, purity, perfection. _Everything her family stood for. Everything he stood for. Everything she was supposed to stand for. If Hermione wasn't a pureblood before, she definitely was now.


	10. Unexpected Presents

Hermione wasn't exactly sure what happened after Voldemort left. All she could do was stare at the mark that was on her wrist, which would never be flawless again. It was clear that the party was over, however, for Voldemort had left behind a chill that no amount of dancing and music would be able to alleviate. Hermione barely registered any of the guests saying goodbye to her. The only one she did notice was Isaac, for he came right up to her and placed a kiss on her hand before parting with, "Goodbye Miss Luxurien, it was a _pleasure _to meet you,"

"Likewise," Hermione managed to say as she pulled back her hand. She swore she heard Draco growl.

Ithaca was right behind Isaac, her eyes meeting Hermione's for a second before turning to Draco. "Goodnight Draco," she smiled, and she brushed her hands across his chest. "Don't be a stranger, because I definitely won't be."

"Goodnight Ithaca," he said without blinking. She left him with a wink as she and her brother exited the room to floo out of the manor.

Soon the room was void of all people except Hermione, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy.

"Well that was fun!" Blaise said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes it was," Pansy agreed as she gathered up Hermione gifts. "Where do you want these Draco?"

"Just leave them here for now, we can open them later," Draco said.

"Alright then. Well, I suppose I should be off, it's nearly one. Happy birthday Hermione, it was great spending the night with you. We should do something together soon,"

"That would be nice," Hermione said, giving Pansy a small grin.

"I should get going too," Blaise put in. "Goodnight Hermione, and happy birthday,"

He gave Hermione a hug and then followed Pansy to the fireplaces.

"And… it's just us again," Draco joked, taking Hermione by the hand and lifting her out of her seat. "You know you can keep staring at it, but it's not going to go away," he said, noticing she was still focused on her mark.

"I know," Hermione sighed. "I'll just have to get used to it is all,"

Draco nodded in understanding and then led her up to her bedroom, both of them ready to crash after a very long and exciting day.

But despite how tired she was, Hermione couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned around her queen sized bed, trying to find a comfortable position and drift off, but the unconsciousness never came. She knew it was because her mind was too full of her own thoughts. In the past month and a half that she was there she had merely glossed over all the changes that were happening in her life. She knew she couldn't do anything about them, so she found no use in moping and complaining. The final event of the night however made it all too real for her, and she realized just how far gone she was from the life she had before.

Restless, and needing something to calm and relax herself other than lying in her bed and staring at the ceiling, Hermione decided to go take a shower. She silently undressed herself and turned on the water, making sure it was nice and hot before she stepped in. She closed her eyes as the warmth took over her and the water soaked her from head to foot. Sighing, she slid down to the tub's bottom and just sat there, clearing her mind of everything.

***

There was no doubt about it, Draco was tired, and the moment he stepped into his room his bed looked the most inviting it had ever been. He kicked off his shoes, threw his jacket to the side, and then fell onto his bed. A couple minutes later he was fast asleep, still in the position he had lay in his bed in.

_"Draco, can I take the blindfold off please?" she asked him._

_"Not yet love, we're almost there though. Don't worry, I won't let you fall… again,"_

_"You better not, I only need one scraped knee thank you very much," _

_"I thought I kissed that all better,"_

_"You kissed away the pain, not the scrape," she pointed out. He rolled his eyes, though she of course couldn't see. He quickened his pace, getting excited with every step they got closer. He stopped and smiled when he reached their destination. _

_"We're here," he said, and he untied the blindfold from her head. "Ta da!"_

_"The Mouth of Truth, you blindfolded me for that? I've seen it on every trip we've taken here," she chuckled. He ignored her remarks._

_"Do you love me?" he asked._

_"Of course I love you," she smiled with wondering eyes. _

_"Prove it," he smirked._

_She shook her head and laughed. "The things you make me do." she said as she stretched her hand towards the mouth. She was about to reach in when she stopped."Wait a minute…" She looked at him watching her intently and suddenly her eyes lit up, and he knew she was remembering the story of another couple of lovers who had been at this very spot. She slowly put her hand into the mouth and retrieved the black velvet box he had snuck in there earlier. She gently opened it up and then gasped. He knew she would love it. "Oh Draco, it's beautiful," she said, her face beaming. _

_It was beginning to rain, but he didn't care. He took her left hand in his and then got down on one knee. _

_"Hermione, will you marry me?"_

Draco opened his eyes and immediately looked around him. He definitely wasn't standing by the Mouth of Truth in Italy. Instead he was greeted with the darkness of his bedroom, the only light coming in being that of the moon through the window. He groaned as he remembered what he had been dreaming about, and more specifically who. He had asked her a question- a very important question at that- and he didn't get to hear her answer, which he really wanted to know.

He heard the sound of a shower running, and it occurred to him that this was probably the reason he woke up, and the cause of the rain in his dream. He looked at his clock and read the time. 2:36 in the morning. _Who is taking a shower this late at night?_ He thought. Then he realized it could really only be one person.

Lifting himself off the bed he noticed that he had fallen asleep still in his tux. He laughed and then took it off, putting on the pajama bottoms he usually wore to bed and a white cotton v-neck. He then crawled under his covers, ready to fall back into dreamland.

The sound of the shower kept him up though. He looked over at his clock and realized it had already been going for a good twenty minutes. _She'll be done soon, and then I can go back to sleep._ Twenty-five minutes later though and the water was still running. Draco began to get worried. He threw his covers off and shot out of his bed, hurrying over to Hermione's bedroom.

He knocked on the door to her bathroom. "Hermione? Are you trying to drown yourself in there or something?" He had meant it to be a joke, but he regretted it when he realized that it could be possibly be true. "Hey, unless you say something in the next three seconds I'm coming in. One…" He waited for an answer. "Two…" Still silence. "Three!" He pushed open the door.

"Hermione?" He went over to the tub and carefully pulled back the curtains. She was sitting there hugging her knees to her chest, with her head resting on them, and her eyes were closed. The water was spraying straight onto her, and her hair was dripping onto her back and over her shoulders. He couldn't see anything, but it was enough to make him gulp. "Hermione you need to get out," he said, and he went to turn off the water. He sighed when she didn't stir. "Hermione wake up." He began stroking her hair, hoping the touch would be enough to get her up.

"Mmmm?" She noised, her eyes groggily fluttering open. She blinked and looked around, and when her eyes landed on Draco standing beside her they widened in horror. "Oh my gosh!" she squealed grabbing a fistful of curtain and shutting her from view.

"Sorry!" Draco apologized, turning away and covering his eyes. "I didn't see anything, I promise! Here!" He grabbed her towel from its rung and shoved it past the curtain and into her general direction.

"Thank you," she said timidly. What he wouldn't give to be able to see her face right now.

Draco stood there in silence, waiting for her to get out. Over two minutes had passed and she still hadn't pulled the curtains back. "Come on Hermione, you can't hide forever," he said. Slowly she stepped out of the tub, looking at nothing but the floor, her cheeks full of color. He couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"I can't believe you fell asleep in the shower,"

Hermione huffed and stomped out of the bathroom and into her room, Draco a step behind her. She went over to her closet to get out her pajamas and then went behind the dressing screen Narcissa had gotten for her so she could change.

"So are you going to tell me why you chose to cleanse yourself at the ungodly hour of two in the morning?" he asked, lying back on her bed.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered frankly. Draco decided not to press any further, though he wanted to. He had a good idea of why sleep was evading her at the moment. He couldn't sleep either the first night after he got the Dark Mark. He had forgotten that Hermione would be receiving her brand today, and he felt terrible that he hadn't warned her about it. When Voldemort came into the ball room Draco thought the potion was ready for her and that she'd have to take it right then and there. He was only slightly relieved when he realized that wasn't what the Dark Lord was there for.

Hermione came out from behind her screen fully dressed and then went to her vanity table to dry her hair with her wand. Draco watched as her damp ringlets lost their moisture and became more defined. She really had great hair.

He was brought back to the dream he had had right before he came here. He wondered why he had had it in the first place. Was it a premonition or just something his subconscious mind was trying to tell him? Would he ever actually ask her to marry him? She'd only been here a month and a half, and already he knew that if she ever left he would be miserable. Her presence there gave him something to look forward to. Without her, there wouldn't be any point to his days, or waking up at all. He'd be alone, waiting for when the Dark Lord had need of him, and dreading every day up until then.

Then there was the most important question of all: What would her answer be? It both elated and terrified him that she might possibly say yes. He couldn't imagine anyone ever wanting to marry him after everything he's done, especially her.

_Just shut up Draco, you're not even close to getting to the point where you'd ask her to marry you. Hell, you're not even together,_ he reminded himself.

"Still awake?" she asked him, lying down next to him, though there was a good foot of space between them.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to fall back asleep again for a while,"

"Me either."

They lay here in silence for a few moments, the only noise being their steady breathing. Draco turned his head to look at her. "Hermione, are you okay?"

"No," she admitted slowly, shaking her head. "It's just… ever since I got here I've just been accepting everything and trying to forget everything else- Trying to not let all these new changes to my life affect me,"

Draco listened intently as she spoke. He kept his eyes on her, though she kept hers on the ceiling above her.

"But I'm not even sure who I am anymore," she continued, her voice beginning to crack. "My parents aren't my parents, I'm living in Malfoy Manor, I spend all my time with you of all people- the boy who used to torment me on a daily basis- and now I'm friends with two other Slytherins. To top it off I have this permanent mark etched onto my wrist so that the world knows that I'm pureblood royalty, and that I don't forget that I belong to a family that stands for everything I despise. I mean, does Hermione even _exist_?"

As if on instinct, Draco took her hand in his, just as tears started spilling over her eyes. "Of course you do," he said. "Who you are comes from inside, not your last name or the people you've been forced to live with. You will always be Hermione, the girl who loves books, learning about everything, and listening to music. _'A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet; so Hermione would, were she not Hermione called,'_or Granger, or Luxurien,"

"You read _Romeo and Juliet,_" Hermione laughed through the tears.

"Yes," he smiled. "They were stupid if you ask me, but they had their moments." He continued to hold her hand in his, rubbing his thumb in circles as he waited for her tears to die down.

"Just forget about the mark Hermione," he continued to soothe. "If you don't want it to mean anything, then it doesn't mean anything. We both have marks that we wish we didn't. See?" He thrust his forearm out and above her face to show her the dark mark. "Does this mean I'm a coldblooded killer that wants to eradicate the world of everyone who doesn't have magic flowing through them?"

"No,"

"Exactly. We can't let these define who we are, because once we do, that's when we'll lose ourselves."

"When did you get so wise?" Hermione said, finally turning her head to look at him.

"I've always been wise." He smirked, turning over onto his side. He wiped away one of her falling tears with his thumb. "Now please stop crying, I hate seeing you like this. I much prefer you smiling, or bickering with me about something," he chuckled. "Come on, I have an idea," He grabbed her hand and picked her up off the bed. Hermione willingly allowed him to walk her down the hall and the stairs to the main level, where he brought her once again to the grand ballroom.

"If there's another party waiting for me in there I'm not going in," she kidded.

"A party- no. Presents- yes," Draco said as pulled her inside and sat her in her throne. He then used his wand to turn it around so that she was facing her pile of gifts. "So milady, which one do you want to start with?"

"How about that one right in the middle with the giant bow?" Hermione pointed, and Draco slid the box over to her.

"This one's from Henna Riddler," he told her, reading off the name card.

Hermione untied the large bow, ripped off the wrapping paper, and opened the box. Inside was a red, double breasted, pea-coat with black buttons. Draco frowned, "That is _way_ too red,"

"What color should it be? Green?"

"Precisely, and with silver buttons."

Hermione rolled her eyes and set the jacket to the side. "Okay, pass me that flat square one."

"This one's from…Isaac and Ithaca Peren," Draco said, not hiding the contempt in his voice.

It was a strand of white pearls, and tucked in the side of the box was a note.

"_Wear it on special occasions,_" she read aloud, "_And when you see me. Love, Isaac,_"

"It does not say that," Draco said snatching the note from her. His face fell when he saw that it in fact did. He crumpled it up and threw it to the side.

"Do you have something against Isaac?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"I just didn't like the way he was talking to you. And was there something wrong with his eye?"

"It's called a wink Draco," Hermione laughed. "Anyway, you and Ithaca looked pretty cozy."

Draco instantly went red. He had hoped she wouldn't bring that up.

"You two were pretty close I heard," Hermione continued, grabbing the next gift herself.

"We…have a past," Draco admitted. "And it'll probably stay that way,"

_Not if she has her way_, Hermione thought, and it finally occurred to her what Ithaca's final words to her in the bathroom had meant. Hermione scoffed.

"Is something funny?" Draco asked, noticing her action.

"No, everything's fine. So… tell me about this past,"

Draco sighed, not really wanting to go into it, but doing so anyway. "Her father and mine were good friends, while our mothers tolerated each other- still don't know what that was about- but in any case, her family stayed over every summer since we were six, and sometimes just her and Isaac did while their parents took a vacation. So we spent a lot of time together, and overtime we began to like each other as more than friends. We were only officially together for the summer of last year. After that she moved with her mother to Australia, and the distance proved to be our demise,"

"I see," Hermione said, resting her hands on her chin and her elbows on her knees. "Did you love her?"

Draco looked at her, surprised by her question. Hermione instantly went red.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that," she said quickly.

"No, it's fine," he said. It was something he had been wondering himself for some time. Even tonight when he first saw Ithaca it seemed as if all those long lost feelings were resurfacing. Then he remembered the way Hermione's face had snuck into his mind and had driven anything about Ithaca out. Somehow the girl he had held in his heart since they were children and grown to have stronger feelings for had been able to be uprooted by the girl he had held disdain for since he was eleven and only grown to appreciate over the last month and a half. Strangely, he now knew the exact answer to the question. "No," he said. "The sixteen year old boy in me thought he did, but I realize now that I didn't. All I had done was incorrectly label the attraction I had for her. I was sad after she left, but after a month I began to forget about her, and I suspect she did the same with me for she never wrote, and I found that it didn't bother me. I think when you love someone you hold onto them for as long as you can before finally letting go, and I wasn't doing that. So, no, I didn't love her." When Draco finished with his epiphany, he suddenly felt as if a weight he hadn't known existed was lifted off of his shoulders.

"What are you going to do now that she's back?"

"Nothing," Draco said simply, and he knew it was the truth. Interacting with Ithaca Peren would not become part of his schedule. He already had someone else to fill it with. "Now, can we stop talking about the Peren's and get back to opening your gifts?"

"Yes," Hermione smiled.

They continued through her pile of presents, coming across a variety of items like books, fancy quill sets, fragrances, clothing, and most of all jewelry. "I'm probably going to forget I own half of these necklaces,"

"Well then we'll just have to get you a jewelry stand so you can see all of them," Draco reasoned. "Here's Pansy's,"

Pansy's gift came in a flat, rectangular, white box with a thin fuchsia ribbon going around it. Inside was a purple satin wristlet that had silver clasps at the top. Like with Isaac's gift, there was a note underneath it.

_So we can go shopping together._

_-Pansy_

Hermione smiled and placed the note inside the small purse.

Soon they were finished with all the gift opening, and Hermione had a nice pile of gifts stacked up next to her. "How are we going to get all of this to my room?"

"Like this," Draco said, and with a swish of his wand all the gifts were floating in the air, and with another swish they zoomed out of the ball room and to Hermione's bedroom. "I love being a wizard,"

"Being a muggle isn't too bad. We have television and computers, and many other handy things," Hermione retorted, though half of her sentence was a yawn.

"I think it's finally time for us to go to sleep," Draco grinned, taking Hermione's hand in his once again. Slowly they made their way back up to their bedrooms.

"Well, goodnight then," Hermione said shyly once they reached her door. "Thanks for staying up with me,"

"Anytime," he replied, giving her hand, which he had yet to let go of, a squeeze. Before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing its center. "Happy Birthday, Hermione."

He meant to make a quick getaway after that, but he felt her hand wrap around his wrist, pulling him back. He looked at her, and her cheeks were tinged pinker than he ever remembered seeing, and her eyes were staring down.

"Draco… call me Granger,"

He was confused for a second, but then he understood. She needed something to remind her who she was, and she needed him to do it. "Goodnight then Granger," he smirked, and he opened her door for her so she could go in.

_You're doing a great job listening to Pansy_, the voice in Draco's head said once he was back in his room, but he didn't regret what he'd done one bit. In fact he knew he wished he could have left her with more than a kiss on the forehead. That however was dangerous territory.

He ran a hand through his hair and then went over to his bed, ready to fall asleep again. It was then that he noticed three gift wrapped packages sitting on his desk. They had arrived that morning, and he'd meant to give them to Hermione with the rest of her gifts, but somehow he'd forgotten. They didn't say who they were from, they just had Hermione's name labeled on all of them. He had a pretty good idea of who the senders were though, and it caused a weird feeling to form in the pit of his stomach. Draco debated whether to go over to her room again to give them to her, or just wait till the next day. Deciding that waiting till tomorrow would probably get him in more trouble than he already was for putting it off, he grouped the three packages together in his arms and went back to Hermione's room.

"Hermi- Granger," he whispered. She was already lying on her bed, but it hadn't been too long since they'd parted so she couldn't be asleep yet. He went over to her bed and sat on it next to her.

"Hmm?" she noised, not opening her eyes.

"These came for you this morning, I was going to give them to you along with the rest of your gifts, but I forgot,"

She lifted her lids and saw the three packages he was holding. "Who are they from?" she asked, sitting up.

"I don't know, but-"

Hermione had already torn off the wrapping of the first package, to reveal a small photo album. On the cover was a picture of her, Harry, and Ron from just before the end of sixth year. He heard her breath catch as she brushed her fingers over the photograph. She slowly opened the album up, and out fell a folded up piece of parchment. Shakily, Hermione unfolded it to read, but a second later she thrust it over to Draco. "Please- I can't do it." Draco nodded and began to read,

_Dear Hermione,_

_Happy Birthday. I don't know where you are, but I hope that wherever it is, you are alright and that this gets to you. I want you to know that Ron and I haven't stopped looking for you, and we won't ever stop. I beat myself up every day for not being able to keep you from being taken, and I hope you can forgive me. I think back on all those times I took you for granted and wasn't the best friend I should've been. You've been nothing but supportive of me in everything, and you've stuck by me when others left. Now you're gone and I don't know if I'll ever see you again, and it literally hurts. I'm going to find you Hermione, if it's the last thing I do. I love you, and I probably didn't realize how much until now. You're my sister and family in every way that counts and I want you back. Do not give up hope, because we won't._

_With all the love in the world,_

_Harry_

Draco looked up from the letter as he finished. Hermione was biting down on her lower lip, her face hard, as if she was trying not to cry. He folded the letter back up and placed it in the open album.

Hermione turned her face towards the other packages and brought one to her, ripping off its outer paper. This one held a book titled, Metamorphoses. "She remembered," Hermione said softly. She opened the book and out fell another note. Without waiting to be asked Draco took it and opened it up.

_Dear Hermione, _he began to read.

_I have no idea if this will reach you, but it's your birthday and we decided to send you gifts anyway when this day came. Just for our own peace of mind I guess. It gives us hope that you're out there waiting for us- well Harry and Ron, since they didn't let me go with them- to find you and bring you home. I remembered you saying this is one of your favorite books and I saw it in a store I was in so I got it for you. I figured that wherever you are it probably doesn't have it for you to read. I miss you and I hope you're okay. It was terrible when Harry and Ron came back to the burrow without you that night. I don't think I've ever cried like that before, and neither had Mum. Dad had to give her a sleeping potion. I was mad at Harry and my brother for a while because they didn't save you. I forgave them the night before they left though, I didn't want to leave things the way they were. I know you wouldn't have wanted that. I'm back at Hogwarts now, and it's horrible without you and the boys. What makes it worse though is that even though I don't know where they are, I know they're okay. You…I don't know where you are, and it pains me to think about it. I'll never give up hope that they'll find you and bring you home to us. I love you and anticipate the day when we'll see each other again._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

By the time Draco finished reading Ginny's letter Hermione had already unwrapped the third and final gift, which he was sure was from Ron. She handed him the note that had come with the gift, and sure enough the signature at the bottom was that of Ronald Weasley. Draco wasn't sure if he wanted to read this one, knowing how Hermione felt about the boy and how he undoubtedly loved her. What would he have to say? If anything it would probably be even more heart-wrenching than Potter's and the Weaselette's. Then again, Weasley didn't always seem to have a way with words. Draco knew he couldn't just refuse to read this particular letter though, especially when it would probably be the hardest one for Hermione. Taking a breath, he began.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Happy Birthday. You probably thought we'd forget without you here, but we'd never forget you. You're on my mind constantly, and even though I know I should be more focused on helping Harry fight for the greater good, I find myself focusing more on finding you. I love you. I don't know why it took me so long to admit it. I don't know what I was thinking all these years just keeping you as a friend when we could've been so much more. And now I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to be together. But I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to bring you back to me, because that's where you belong- right here with me. _

_Love, _

_Ron_

It was short and sweet, and said everything it needed to. Although he had no right to and it would be extremely insensitive, all Draco wanted to do at that moment was tear that letter to shreds. Instead he carefully set it next to the other two.

Hermione was holding whatever Ron had sent her in her hands and staring at it intently. It was small, so Draco couldn't see it. "What did he get you?" he asked.

Hermione held her hand out for him to see. It was a necklace with a golden half heart with jagged edges dangling from it. "It's half a heart," she explained to him. "Because we're one half of a whole. He has the other part."

"I see," Draco said sullenly, though he tried not to show it.

Hermione slid back down onto the bed, the heart still in her hand, her eyes never coming off of it. Draco silently moved the wrapping paper, letters, and other gifts onto her bed stand. "Thank you," she said. "For not keeping them from me,"

"I wouldn't keep you from your friends," he answered quietly. There was an awkward silence as neither of them said anything. Draco wasn't sure if he should leave or not. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No, go sleep. I've kept you awake long enough," Hermione said quietly as she ran her finger over the edge of the heart. By the sound of her voice he could tell there was a hitch in her throat.

"Goodnight then Granger,"

"Goodnight."

Once again Draco found himself in his bedroom lying on his bed, but he didn't close his eyes for sleep to claim him. He had only been there about a minute when he heard it; the sharp, pained sobs of someone finally fully letting all their emotions out.

Draco never knew how much the sound of someone crying could cause another's heart to break, but that was exactly what was happening to him. He used to take pleasure in hearing Hermione cry, especially when it was because of him. Now he abhorred the sound more than he ever thought possible. And what he hated more about her crying was that it meant that, unlike he had, she was holding on. She still loved _him_.

***

It took only a few minutes after Draco left for Hermione to break down. Receiving the gifts from her best friends had been the final straw on an overwhelming day that, though fun, had reminded her that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. So now she cried.

She cried for being in a place that would never be home.

She cried for the loss of her parents, both sets.

She cried for the child she would have to bear.

She cried for her friends that didn't know whether she was alive or dead.

She cried for the loss of a future with the boy she had just started to love.

And she cried for having started to forget that she loved that boy, and beginning to love another.

_Why me?_ She thought bitterly, as a sob wracked through her body. She wrapped her blanket closer around her and clutched the necklace from Ron in her hand. It was the last reminder of what they could have had and she didn't want to let it go.

Suddenly she felt an arm go around her and she froze, letting out a whimper.

"Shhh, it's only me," he said, pulling her close to him. He pressed his head against the back of hers, nestling into her hair.

She probably should have kicked him out, but she couldn't find the will to. He was warm, and comforting, and somehow she knew that she needed him, and probably shouldn't have asked him to leave in the first place. Because as strange as it was, Draco was her family now.

Slowly, her tears dissipated, their tracks beginning to dry. Her breathing returned to normal, and she could feel sleep finally begin to overtake her. She was vaguely conscious of what was the feel of a kiss brushing against her temple, and being hugged even tighter before drifting away into unconsciousness.

When she woke up later that morning she found her face pressed against something soft that also smelled incredibly good, though she couldn't put a name to the scent. Opening her eyes, all she could see was white, and she wondered what the heck she was looking at when she remembered the night before and realized it was Draco's shirt. She suddenly became aware of his arms wrapped around her and his head resting on hers. She knew he was still sleeping, for she could hear the steady beat of his heart and his even breathing.

Hermione felt something in her hand, and using her sense of touch, recognized it as the necklace Ron had given her. She hadn't let go of it all night.

Draco stirred next to her, and she watched as his eyes slowly revealed themselves to her.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Good morning," he said sleepily. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Hermione smiled up at him, and she could tell he knew that she wasn't just answering his question.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Both Hermione and Draco jumped at the sound of someone lightly hitting the door. "Hermione," they heard his mother say. "Are you up? Have you seen Draco? It's time for breakfast,"

Draco quickly disentangled himself from Hermione and shot out of the bed, but not soon enough.

"I can't seem to find my son anywhere- oh,"

She had come in just in time to see Draco scrambling off the bed. She looked between him and Hermione and back again.

"Good morning, Mother," Draco said, walking up to her and placing a kiss on her cheek before disappearing to his room.

"Umm… breakfast is in fifteen minutes Hermione," she said, blushing, and before Hermione could say anything in return Mrs. Malfoy was out the door.

Hermione buried her head in her hands and laughed in embarrassment.

***

Needless to say, breakfast that morning was awkward. Narcissa kept looking at Hermione and Draco with a big smile on her face, and Mr. Malfoy was scowling. Their conversation consisted of talking about the events of the day before, though leaving out the part where Voldemort showed up. Narcissa said she noticed all of Hermione's gifts were opened and asked if she liked them all, to which Hermione said yes. Soon the meal was finished and Draco was helping Hermione out of her seat.

"Draco, can I speak with you for a moment?" Lucius asked his son. Draco nodded.

"I'll meet you upstairs," he said to Hermione, and she quietly left the room, leaving him with his two parents. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Your mother told me she found you in Miss Luxurien's room this morning… in her bed," Lucius said, his tone serious. "Must I remind you what she is here for and what the consequences would be if someone got in the way of that?"

"Nothing happened Father," Draco put in before Lucius could blow up. "She was upset and needed company. I just provided it,"

"Well next time, provide it while sitting in a chair," Lucius said through clenched teeth.

"What was she upset about?" Narcissa asked, concerned.

"Her new life. Getting the brand finally brought it home for her. And it didn't help that she received birthday presents from her friends."

"Poor girl," Narcissa said sadly. "Maybe I should go talk to her-"

"No Mother," Draco stopped her. "I'm sure she's fine now, and I don't want it brought up again unless she does,"

His mother nodded in understanding, though he could tell she still really wanted to go talk to Hermione.

"Just be careful Draco, and don't tread anywhere you're not supposed to," Lucius said.

"Yes, Father," Draco answered.

"Very well then, we'll see you at lunch." And with that parting, Lucius took his wife's hand in his and walked with her out of the room. Draco sighed and ran up the stairs back to Hermione.

He found her sitting on her bed, going through the photo album Harry had given her. The three notes from him, Ginny, and Ron were in out next to her. Clearly she had read them all again. Thankfully though, it didn't look like she had been crying.

"Did Potter pick good pictures?" he asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Most of them," she said. "Some of them are from back when my hair still didn't know what to do with itself,"

They spent the twenty minutes looking at every picture together, and Hermione would tell him the story behind each one. By the time they were finished, Draco felt he not only knew more about her, but about Potter and the Weasleys as well. It was clear that even though they weren't related to Hermione, they all loved her and considered her one of their own. He wondered if she would ever feel as at home with him as she did with them.

"So what do you want to do today?" he asked her as she closed the album. He then noticed that she was wearing the chain he had given her the day before with her mother's rings and his insides soared. It didn't last long though, for he caught sight of a second chain hanging about her neck: the necklace from Ron. _Of course she would wear it,_ he thought to himself. _Why wouldn't she?_

"I actually kind of just wanted to read the book Ginny gave me, if that's alright," she said to him.

"Of course it is. After yesterday I don't really feel like being active either," he said, giving a small laugh. "Let's go to the library. That way I can read something too."

Hermione smiled at him and picked up the book, then followed him out the room and to the floor below.

For the next couple hours they sat next to each other on one of the couches, each reading their own book. Once in a while Draco would look up from his to look at Hermione, and more than once he caught her not reading, but staring off at nothing in particular, as if she was thinking about something.

"Okay Granger, what's on your mind?" he finally asked her.

"Hmmm?" she said, looking up from her book. "Nothing's on my mind," she said, looking away from him.

Liar. He grabbed her book from her and saw what page she was on. "Page four?" he said, raising his eyes. "Hermione…"

"Alright," she said in defeat. "There's just something I wanted to ask you,"

"Then ask me," Draco chuckled. "Don't think about it for two hours. What do you need?"

Hermione was quiet for a moment for giving him a reply. "I was wondering if…if I could write them back."

Draco's face fell. He suddenly understood why she had to mull over it for so long. It was a heavy request, and one he did not want to give the answer to.

"Granger, you know you can't do that," he said, his voice quiet. He felt a pang of sadness as she simply nodded her head. She took her book back from him and pretended to read again.

Draco wished he could have told her yes. That he could've told her she could write the longest letter she wanted and even continue correspondence with them. But he couldn't. They couldn't know where she was or who had her, or else they'd come looking, and the Dark Lord wasn't ready for Potter yet. Sighing, Draco went back to his book.

"Can I at least tell them thank you?" Hermione asked unexpectedly a couple minutes later, taking Draco aback. "It doesn't even have to come from me. You, or someone else can write it and you don't... you don't have to sign it or anything. And you could send it using an anonymous owl so that it can't be traced… I just want them to know I'm alive," she said softly, her head facing downwards.

Draco hated seeing her so sullen and down. He knew that her plan could work, as long as they were careful. Then again it could backfire, and he'd be the one facing the heat. Ready with his answer, Draco took her hand in his and lifted her chin up with his other.

"Okay," he said.

"Thank you."

***

Two days passed from when Draco sent the letter. He had only allowed her to send one note, so since her three friends weren't currently all together, she had to choose who would get the message first hand, and who would get it secondhand. Hermione chose Harry and Ron.

Draco only had four words written on the parchment he sent to them: _She says thank you._ He asked Wren to pen it, just to make sure they wouldn't recognize the handwriting. He then had Wren leave it at the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley when no one was looking, with the instructions to send it to Ron Weasley. Draco knew an anonymous message to Ron would be less suspicious than one to Harry Potter.

And so it had been done. Though Hermione still remained sullen for the rest of the day, and a little of the day after, she was able to rest knowing her friends knew she was alive, and Draco was able to rest because she could.

Then the replies came.

Draco and Hermione had been walking through the garden when Wren popped up with a letter in hand. Immediately Draco knew it was for Hermione. Any letters addressed to him would have come straight with his owl, but those for people who didn't reside in the manor were left outside the gate for the house elves to retrieve. Wren presented it to Draco and left again, thankfully not mentioning that it was for Hermione and not him.

"Who is it from?" she asked.

"Blaise," Draco lied quickly, keeping his voice even.

"Aren't you going to read it?"

"Not with you around. What if he's telling me some deep dark secret only meant for me to know?" he said, playing it cool.

Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed. "Okay then. How about I go over by the fountain, and you can read your letter from your boyfriend,"

"Funny one Granger," Draco scoffed as she walked away. As soon as he could see her sitting on the fountain, he opened the letter.

_Hermione, thank goodness you're alive. You don't know how relieved we are. We sent word to the Weasley's that we heard from you, and their happy as well. Where are you? Are you alright? Please let us know so we can come get you as soon as possible. _

_With all our love,_

_Harry and Ron_

Draco folded up the letter and put it in his pocket, not sure what to do. Should he tell her? He knew it'd be the right thing to do, but he didn't think he could stand watching her break down again, knowing she couldn't answer them. She was just starting to get over the effects receiving their gifts had left her; her smile returned and he didn't want it go away again.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked when he returned to her.

"He's bored and wanted to know if he could come over,"

"Well then tell him to get over here pronto," Hermione laughed.

"As you wish. I don't have a quill on me, so I'm going to have to go get one. You going to stay here?"

"No, I'll come inside with you. I need some water."

Draco dropped Hermione off at the kitchens and then hurried to his room. He pulled the letter out of his pocket, opened the bottom drawer of his desk, and placed it all the way in the back where he knew she wouldn't find it. Maybe one day he'd be able to give it to her, but until then, she couldn't know.

He quickly grabbed a small piece of parchment and his quill.

_Blaise,_

_Get over here NOW. The story is you sent me a letter saying you were bored and wanted to come over. I'll explain to you why later._

_Draco_

"Wren!" Draco called, and in an instant his house elf appeared. "Send this with Phaeton to Blaise, please."

"Yes, Master Draco," Wren bowed, and disappeared again. Blaise didn't live far from the manor, so he knew he'd be able to get here within a few minutes.

Sure enough, he was about to go down to meet Hermione when he heard his friend arrive through the fireplace. "You better have a good explanation as to why I had to cut my lunch date with Portia Martin short," Blaise said the minute he saw Draco.

"Portia Martin? She agreed to go out with _you_?" Draco asked in wonderment. He then shook his head of the side track, remembering why he had needed Blaise there.

"I hope you know what you're doing, mate," Blaise said when Draco finished telling him what was up. "She'll hate you if she finds out."

"She's never going to find out Blaise," Draco said sternly. "Got that? This stays between us,"

"Are you going to reply to them?"

"I don't know yet."

***

The next day, Draco did end up replying to them.

_She's fine. She's being taken cared of- and I mean that in a good way. Don't worry._

That was the short message he had given back to them. He regretted it when two days later Wren brought him another letter. Luckily, Hermione wasn't around that time.

_Who is this? Why can't Hermione reply to us? What are you doing with her? Why did you take her? Harm her in any way and when we find you we'll kill you._

Draco groaned. He had hoped his last response would be enough, that it would have been the end. Hating himself for what he was doing, Draco stuffed the letter in his bottom drawer with the other one, and then called Wren to write out his reply.

_I am her keeper. She can't reply to you because I say she can't. I am keeping her safe. I can't tell you that. I'd let you._

He had only answered their questions, and it was vague enough that it didn't hold any clues to where she was and who had her. He asked Wren to write one final message, before having it sent:

_Do not write again._

Hopefully that would stop any more messages from coming, and keep himself from digging any further into the hole than he already was.

***

It had been over a week since Hermione had heard from her friends and replied to them. She knew she probably wouldn't hear from them again, and she had come to terms with that. It was enough to know that they were still looking for her and that they knew she was alive.

She still missed them, but it ached less, especially when Draco was around. Now that she had the album, the book, and the necklace to remind her of them, she didn't have to fear forgetting them.

"So what's that book from the Weaselette about?" Draco asked Hermione as they were sitting in the library reading.

"It's called _Metamorphoses_ and it's by a man named Ovid. It was published in 8 AD and is a collection of Greek mythology, which, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm completely in love with,"

"I did." Draco smiled. "Why don't you read me some of it?"

"Um, alright then." Hermione flipped around the book until she found one of her favorite stories. "This is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice," she said, and she proceeded to read him the story. _"Thence through the boundless air Hymen, clad in a saffron mantle, departed and took his way to the country of the Ciconians, and was summoned by the voice of Orpheus…"_

Draco listened eagerly, and Hermione let out a chuckle as she watched his jaw slightly drop and his eyes widen as it reached the climax.

_"... He stretched out his arms, eager to catch her or to feel her clasp; but unhappy one, he clasped nothing but the yielding air. And now, dying a second time, she made no complaint against her husband; for of what could she complain but that she was beloved? She spake one last "farewell" which scarcely reached her husband's ears, and fell back again to the place from which she had come._" Hermione looked up at Draco as she finished.

"Is that the end?"

"Well it goes on a little more with Orpheus, but it's the end of his and Eurydice's story,"

"Why did he have to look back?" Draco groaned. "Just one more step and everything would have been fine!"

"I know, it's frustrating isn't it?"

"Maybe even more than Romeo and Juliet…Read me another one,"

Hermione smiled at his interest, and she was just about to start on another story she thought Draco would enjoy when Wren popped into the room and handed him a letter. Had she not been paying attention she would have missed the way Draco's body tensed up for a split second the moment Wren gave it to him.

"Blaise again?" Hermione asked, though she was suspicious.

"Yeah," Draco said, his voice a little too casual. "He said he's bored again and wants to come over. I'll go write him,"

"It's the twenty-seventh right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Doesn't Blaise have a date with Mikaela Turner tonight?"

"Yes," Draco answered, but she heard his voice falter. "But it must be over now,"

"He said it wasn't till six and it's… six o five,"

"Something must've happened then, I'm just going to go-"

"_Accio letter!_" Hermione shouted, her wand in her hand.

"Hermione, no!"

The parchment zoomed out of Draco's hand and into hers. It didn't take long to find her name on it.

"This is addressed to me," she said, looking at Draco, her eyebrows knitting together. She hurriedly opened it up and read its contents.

_Please, whoever you are, just give her back to us._

_Harry and Ron_

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she read the short letter again and then again.

"Draco, what is this?"

***

**A/N:** Hooray for chapter 10! Finally we hear from Harry, Ron, and Ginny. And it looks like Draco's in a bit of trouble…hopefully he'll find a way out of it ;)

~ The quote "_A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet…_" comes from Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_ ~

~ The story of Orpheus and Eurydice (pronounced Eur-i-di-see with short i's like in igloo) comes from Book 10 of Ovid's _Metamorphoses, _the version translated by Frank Justus Miller ~

I recommend reading both of them, though Metamorphoses can be a bit confusing at times. But that's what Sparknotes is for : )


	11. Loopholes

"Draco what is this?" Hermione asked, clutching the small piece of parchment in her hand.

Draco stood there, silent, not wanting to turn around and face her. _I'm so dead, _he thought to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Draco, what the _hell_ is this!?_" _she asked him again, more sternly, and he could hear the fury in her voice.

What was he going to say? He hadn't given much thought to what he'd do if she found out. He hadn't planned on her finding out.

"Answer me god dammit!" she yelled at him, and he flinched. He knew Hermione could get upset, but he hoped that instance in third year would be the only time he'd have to witness it, let alone be the one on the receiving end of it.

"It's a letter from your friends," he finally said.

"Well I figured that much from their names at the bottom," Hermione snapped. "Were you not going to show it to me?"

"To be honest, no." He answered curtly, matching her attitude.

"You told me you'd never keep me from my friends," she said, her tone acerbic.

"Well I'm not keeping you from your friends, am I? I'm keeping you from their letters,"

"Letters?"

_Crap, _Draco thought, catching his slip a little too late.

"_Letters?" _ Hermione hissed through clenched teeth.

"Hermione…" Draco pleaded, finally turning to face her.

"How many exactly were _there_?"

"Just two."

There was silence as Hermione closed her eyes and clenched her fists; Draco could tell she was trying to keep her emotions in check.

"What did they say?" she finally asked.

"They wanted to know where you were. I told them you were safe. Then they wanted to know who they were writing to, and so I told them I was your keeper and not to write again. Then they sent the letter that you are currently crushing in your hand. Happy?"

"No," she said shaking her head.

"You have to understand Hermione," Draco sighed. "I hated seeing the way you broke down when you received those letters from them, and I didn't want it to happen again. I did it for you,"

"Oh yeah, I understand. I understand that you're a selfish prick who doesn't give a damn that I've been separated from my friends and family, and the minute they get in contact with me you have to keep them away,"

"It wasn't like that, and you know it," Draco shot back. "You're just too stubborn to realize I was only trying to help,"

"_Help?_ If you want to help then get me out of here! Let me go!"

"And how do you expect me to do that? You want me to just let you walk out of here and run back to Potter and Weasley?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do!"

By this time both of their voices had risen in volume, and the acoustics of the library weren't helping.

"I've told you before, and I guess I have to remind you again- you won't get far. It's a long run between this manor and the gates, and you can't apparate until you're outside of them. You'll be caught and you know who'll have to pay the consequences? Me! Now who's being selfish you filthy little Mudblood?"

Upon hearing his last words, Draco immediately shut his mouth. He felt his stomach drop as he saw Hermione's eyes widen and then glare at him with more contempt than she ever had in their days at Hogwarts. "Hermione, I'm sorry," he said reaching out to her. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't _touch_ _me,"_ she spat, stepping away from him. "I _hate_ you,"

"No you don't," Draco said, and even though he knew he was right, her words still stung him like dry ice.

"Yes, I do," she said in derision, though her voice had begun to tremble. "I hate being here, and I hate you."

"Come on Hermione-"

"I _said-_ don't -touch me!"

Before Draco knew it he had been flung out through the library doors, hitting the wall of the hallway, and they closed with a slam in front of him.

"I take it the Gryffindor Princess is upset about something?" An amused Blaise said, leaning against the wall Draco had just been thrust against.

"Obviously," Draco mumbled angrily, picking himself up off the floor.

"It must be something bad, or else her impulse magic wouldn't have kicked in. So what's got her knickers in a twist?"

"It's either that I kept her friends' letters from her, or I called her a Mudblood, or a combination of both. Take your pick," Draco said, beginning to walk indignantly and quickly down the hall.

"You called her a _Mudblood_? Geez Draco, just because she isn't one anymore doesn't make it any less harsh," Blaise said trying to catch up with his friend.

"You think I don't know that?" Draco said, flinging his hands in the air. "She said she hates me,"

"Well that's a lie, and I'm sure she knows it. Just give her some time mate, she'll come around."

But Hermione didn't come around.

The next morning Draco went over to her room to get her like he usually did, and even though she followed him down to the dining room, she didn't say a single word to him. She barely even looked at him. The whole meal Draco would open his mouth to say something to her, but he'd close it again when he realized he wasn't sure what to say. She probably wouldn't have listened to him anyway.

His mother could tell something was up, and she had Draco stay behind when they were finished eating to talk to him.

"Is there something wrong with Hermione, Draco?" she asked him, concerned.

"Everything's fine mother," Draco lied. "It's just been a long weekend for her." He didn't want to tell her the truth that he'd been in correspondence with Hermione's friends. He wasn't exactly sure he was allowed to be doing that, and he'd rather keep it information for only those who needed to know.

Narcissa eyed her son, not convinced of his words, but she let him go anyway.

Draco walked up the stairs, not sure of what he was going to do with Hermione not talking to him. He wasn't sure what to do to get her to forgive him. He'd never been in a position where he needed someone's forgiveness before. As far as he was concerned, he'd done his part. He'd said sorry, now he just had to wait for her.

He stopped in front of her door and stared at it wistfully. It was usually open during the day, not shutting until Hermione went to bed at night. But right now it was closed, and it stayed like that for the rest of the day.

Hermione was pissed. And besides that she was hurt.

Not only had he kept her friends' letters from her, but he'd called her a Mudblood. She knew which one cut her more; it was definitely the latter.

She thought she'd never have to hear that word uttered about her again- at least from his lips. It showed that he hadn't changed as much as she'd hoped he had. If it weren't for the fact that she was a pureblood, he'd still view her as a worthless muggleborn. And she thought they had grown closer over the past couple months.

Hermione lay back on her bed, not sure what to do with her day. A part of her wanted to be spending it with Draco, but the stubborn part didn't want to be anywhere near him, and the stubborn part was winning.

She wondered what Harry, Ron, and Ginny were doing. Ginny would be at Hogwarts of course, unless Mrs. Weasley had kept her at home, but that didn't seem likely. Harry and Ron were of course out searching for Horcruxes and her, but where they were she hadn't the slightest idea. She let out a sad chuckle at the thought that they could be right outside the manor without any idea that they were. She hoped they had brought with them the right supplies to keep them alive.

With that thought she remembered her bag that she had had when she got to the manor. She hadn't looked at it since those first few days she was here. She went to her closet where she remembered leaving it and pulled it out. She opened it and spilled all its contents on the floor before her.

There wasn't anything in it that could keep her busy, just the usual objects needed for survival: a compass, essence of dittany to heal any wounds, a tent, and some clothes she had packed for her, Harry, and Ron's getaway. She had never told them she would be taking some of their clothes, and she laughed at the thought that they might be missing one of the articles. They were all bunched together, so she began to pull them apart.

"Oh crap," she said as she separated one of the pieces from a long-sleeved shirt that belonged to Ron. It was Harry's invisibility cloak. He had probably gone crazy looking for it. She'd have to keep it safe for him.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Hermione quickly shoved everything back into her bag and then threw it into her closet, just in time for Draco to open the door.

"Time for dinner," he said. Hermione silently nodded at him, but didn't move. "Are you coming?"

"Are Voldemort's cronies here?"

"No,"

"Then I'll meet you down there."

Draco looked as if he was going to say something to her, but he just sighed and closed the door again.

Hermione knew she was being unfair to him, but she just didn't feel like taking the high road at the moment. She picked herself off the ground and went over to where her bag had landed. She shrunk it down and then hid it in the hem of her robes, because if by chance she was rescued she didn't want to leave it behind.

The next couple days passed like Hermione's first couple days at the manor, with her hiding in her room. She had rediscovered _The Tales of Beadle the Bard_ and was studying it for whatever it was Dumbledore wanted them to know, but she still couldn't make any connections. She was rereading the tale of the Three Brothers when she Izzie popped up before her.

"A letter for you Miss," she said happily. "Master Draco told Izzie to give it to you."

Hermione took the envelope and then raised her eyebrows. "Thank you Izzie."

_Seems like Draco's learned his lesson, _she thought as she leaned back into her pillows and slit the top open. She was hoping it would be from Harry and Ron, but the handwriting on the parchment was unfamiliar to her.

_Dearest Miss Luxurien,_

_It's been too long since I last saw your beautiful face. You would be giving me a great honor if you would allow me to see you again. If you are not doing anything tomorrow afternoon I would love to spend it with you. Please say yes. I eagerly await your reply._

_With love,_

_Isaac_

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle as she read the note. She was at her desk to write him a reply, when she remembered there wouldn't be any parchment or quills on her desk. If she wanted to write someone she'd have to ask Draco.

_Great, _she thought. He'd most definitely say no. Then again he was currently trying to get on her good side, it didn't hurt to ask…

"No." Draco answered firmly when Hermione asked him that night after dinner. "Only Pansy and Blaise are allowed inside the manor for friendly visits,"

"Did you come up with that rule just now?"

"Doesn't matter if I did, it's not going to change my answer,"

"Fine then. Can I at least have a piece of parchment to tell him he can't come?"

"Izzie!" Draco called, and the house elf was there in an instant. "Please give Miss Luxurien some parchment so she can write to Isaac Peren, and Isaac Peren only. If she does something otherwise you are to alert me immediately," he instructed.

Hermione was too annoyed by his use of her new surname to question his thorough directions for Izzie.

"Is that all you need?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Hermione said, heading back towards her room.

"Hermione, are you really going to stay mad at me forever?" Draco said before she could step through her door.

_No,_ Hermione thought, but that wasn't the answer she wanted to give him, so she decided it would be better not to answer at all and went into her room without a word. She'd leave it up to him to decide what her silence meant.

It was only a few moments later that Izzie appeared with the parchment for her to write to Isaac. Hermione gratefully took the writing utensils presented to her and then smirked to herself.

Draco had said only Pansy and Blaise were allowed _inside _the manor. He didn't say anything about _outside_. Oh how she loved loopholes.

_Dear Isaac, _she began to write,

_I would be delighted to see you again. Be outside the manor gates tomorrow at two o'clock. My personal house elf Izzie will be there to let you in. _

_Hermione_

Hermione folded the parchment up and wrote Isaac's name on it, then showed it to Izzie for validity. Satisfied that there wasn't anything amiss about the letter, Izzie took it and went to send it off.

It was Thursday, four days since Hermione had found out about the letters, and four days since she'd actually spent any real time with him. Draco thought he might just pull his hair out in frustration.

"She has every right to be upset with you, you know," Blaise told his friend as he walked into his bedroom, knowing Draco's thoughts. Draco didn't bother replying.

"Nice of you to invite Peren over by the way," Blaise continued sarcastically. "With him around she'll _definitely_ want to come running back to you-"

"_What?_" Draco said turning his head towards Blaise, his eyes lowering to slits.

"Ahh, so you didn't invite him over. I did think it was a bit odd,"

Draco shot up from his bed and marched out of his room. "I _specifically _told her that he was not allowed inside the manor! Izzie!"

The small house elf appeared in an instant. "Yes Master Draco?"

"Who let Isaac Peren into the manor?" Draco asked, his arms crossed and expression stern.

"No one did, Master Draco," Izzie stammered, looking down.

"Then why has Blaise told me he is here? Did I not specifically say that he wasn't allowed inside the manor?"

"Yes, Master Draco, but Miss Hermione said that Mr. Peren would not be coming inside the manor, he would be staying outside,"

Blaise snorted and Draco glared at him.

"I'm sorry Master Draco, please do not let Izzie go!" Izzie squealed.

Draco watched as a big tear trailed down Izzie's face and her eyes were wide with distress. Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He had no intention of letting Izzie go, he had merely wanted information. "You're fine Izzie, just go back to whatever it was you were doing. Thank you."

Izzie disappeared without a moment to lose. Draco groaned and rubbed his hands over his face.

"She got you good mate," Blaise said honestly, clasping Draco's shoulder. "She really is the Brightest Witch of her Age. So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Anything I do would probably just fuel the fire,"

"Good choice."

"What were they doing?" Draco asked.

"Just walking around the garden, nothing I would worry about. Then again, he was standing quite close to her, his hand at the ready to-"

"Shut up Blaise,"

"Hey, you asked and I'm answering. I doubt Hermione would hold his hand, she's not that type of girl,"

This did little to quench Draco's unease however, especially since he couldn't see what was going on for himself.

"Do you want me to go spy on them?" Blaise asked, noticing this.

"No, but I'm not going to stop you if you do," Draco said slyly, and Blaise grinned.

"So Hermione, tell me about yourself," Isaac grinned as they walked side by side through the garden. As had been planned, he had shown up at the gates of Malfoy Manor where he was allowed in by Izzie, and then brought to Hermione, who had been waiting for him at the garden. They had exchanged the usual pleasantries (which included a kiss on Hermione's hand as provided by Isaac, causing the recipient to blush), and then they decided to stroll around.

"Well what do you want to know?" Hermione countered; after all, there was a range of things that could be said about her.

"Let's start with your life as a muggle," Isaac said, narrowing it down. "From when you were born, all the way up to finding out you were a witch,"

Hermione proceeded to tell him all about her life in the muggle world with her parents. He listened eagerly, and especially paid attention when she got to the parts about discovering her magical abilities and coming to Hogwarts.

"It must've been so strange for you," he commented.

"It was, but it was exciting, and it made a lot of things make a whole much more sense. Like why I was able to make the pots and pans clatter when I was upset. I'm just glad my parents didn't send me to an insane asylum,"

"Yes, that would've been terrible," Isaac laughed. "So you started Hogwarts, became friends with Harry Potter, and started to have many life threatening adventures."

Hermione was surprised that he knew about her escapades with Harry and Ron; it's not as if they had been published for the world to see, and she had yet to mention anything about them. "You seem to know a bit about my time at school," she said.

"Word gets around about what things the students at Hogwarts get up to," Isaac smirked. "News of the Boy Who Lived's doings are especially valued. I know all about the Chamber of Secrets, your heroic save of Sirius Black, run in with dementors, liaison with Viktor Krum, and your break in at the Ministry of Magic,"

"Wow," was all Hermione could manage to respond with. Who in the world was spreading all this information? "I guess I don't need to regale you with the tale of my Hogwarts days then,"

"Hey, it'd still be nice to hear some of the stories first hand," he said.

"I'll save those for another time. Right now, I want to hear about you. You know quite a few things about me, but all I know about you is that you have a twin and your parents are divorced,"

"My life story is really not that enthralling, but I suppose I'll tell you," Isaac said jokingly. "I was born on the fifth of July 1979 in my family manor in Berlin. My parents are Amett and Ekaterina Peren. My father's the German, but my mother's from Romania. They met going to Durmstrang together, which is where my sister and I also attended school. We spent the days of our youth doing a lot of traveling- father's business took him many places. That's how we became acquainted with the Malfoy's. We were five when we started spending a few weeks of every summer here at the manor. We of course began attending Durmstrang when we were eleven. My mother really wanted us to go to Hogwarts, but my father eventually won that argument. It was only a couple years ago that I noticed the deteriorating relationship between my parents, and then about a year ago my mother filed for divorce, it was granted, and she moved to Australia, taking Ithaca with her. I stayed with my father and continued my schooling at Durmstrang, and now here I am a year later talking to the most beautiful girl in the world," he finished, causing Hermione's face to redden.

"You flatter me too much," she said.

"Only with the truth," he said softly, and Hermione could tell from her peripheral vision that he was staring at her. Suddenly she felt his hand brush against hers, and before he could take any hold on it she quickly folded it in front of her with her other hand.

"It seems like you had a fairly simple life," she said, wanting to get the focus back on the conversation.

"Simple enough, for a wizarding family," Isaac replied, getting the hint for the moment.

"So your family wasn't influenced at all by Voldemort?"

"Of course we were," he said matter-of-factly. "We still are, seeing as my father's a death eater,"

"And you aren't?"

"Of course not, Voldemort doesn't let those as young as me join their ranks," he scoffed.

"But Draco-"

"Malfoy's a death eater?" Isaac said, stopping in his tracks. Clearly he hadn't known.

"Yes…" Hermione said slowly. She suddenly began to wonder if that was something she was supposed to be keeping secret.

"Hmmm…my father hasn't told me about this recent development," he said as he resumed their walk.

_I wouldn't exactly call it recent, _Hermione thought to herself.

"Does it bother you? That he's a death eater?" Isaac asked.

"Of course it does. I'm not exactly fond of the things he's expected to do,"

"And yet you still spend your time around him?"

"He's my keeper, I have to spend time around him." Hermione said with a small laugh.

"You're not with him now," Isaac pointed out. "I was actually surprised he let me come,"

They were at the fountain of Cupid and Psyche now, and had perched themselves on its edge. Hermione began to play with the water.

"He doesn't know you're here," she confessed. "I kind of snuck you under his nose. We're not exactly on the best of terms right now,"

"Oh? What happened between you two?" Isaac asked, curious. "Sorry, I shouldn't be presumptuous,"

"It's alright. Let's just say that he did something he shouldn't have, and it's going to take some time for me to forgive him." Hermione removed her hand from the water and dried it on the bottom of the dress she was wearing, before setting it on the granite beside her.

"Did he hurt you? Because if he did I will not hesitate to beat him for you," Isaac offered. "You really shouldn't trust him, especially since he's a death eater,"

"No, it wasn't anything physical," Hermione said looking Isaac in the eye, immediately coming to Draco's defense. Even though she was upset with him, she wasn't about to let someone think the worst of him. "And Draco's a good person Isaac, despite being a death eater,"

"Just be careful Hermione," Isaac said, staring back at her as intently as she had him, but with a different emotion. "I'd hate to see you get hurt."

Hermione felt her stomach doing flips as Isaac said those final words. Once again she felt Isaac's hand touching hers, but this time she was too late in dragging her hand away, for Isacc's had already settled itself on top and was giving it a squeeze with his fingers. It was loud rustling sound from behind her that gave her the excuse she needed to remove her hand from underneath his, and reclaim it to her lap.

"What was that?" Isaac asked, looking over her shoulder for the source of the noise.

Hermione shrugged, as she also searched. "So, if I recall I'm supposed to tell you all about CDs," she said, turning back to him and bringing the conversation to a safe topic.

"Yes, you are," Isaac replied, getting the hint for the second time that day.

They spent the next couple of hours talking about all things muggle music, and even got into movies a little bit. It wasn't long until the sun was preparing to make itself scarce.

"You should probably get going now," she told Isaac quietly. "It's almost dinner time,"

Isaac nodded and stood up, while Hermione called for Izzie to take him back to the manor gates. "I had a great time with you today Hermione," he smiled. "You think maybe I could stop by tomorrow at the same time?"

"Yes, I would like that,"

"Well then I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Luxurien." Isaac took her hand and kissed it as a final parting before following Izzie out.

Hermione sighed as she watched their two figures get smaller. Isaac Peren was definitely something… a very cute something. And he certainly had some feelings for her, if attempting to hold her hand twice was any indication. However, she knew it would never go anywhere beyond friendship with him, because while he was trying to hold her hand, she was thinking about holding the hand of someone else.

"He tried holding her hand again," Blaise reported to Draco the moment Isaac had vacated the premises, and his and Hermione's little "date" was over.

"Did he now?" Draco said grumpily.

"You'll be happy to know that your beloved did not fall for it though. She kept her hands clasped in front of her after the first time. The second time she wasn't able to retreat as quickly, but the moment I made enough noise for them to wonder if they weren't alone by that fountain, she pulled away,"

"Just because she objected to it today, doesn't mean she'll object later," Draco said defeated.

"Come on mate, I know and you know that she cares about you. It's only a matter of time before she forgives you and everything will be back to normal- well as normal as things can get."

And with that, Blaise left his friend on his own to contemplate the past events of the day.

Draco wasn't sure what to do anymore. He was losing her, and to Isaac Peren no less. He still had a small flicker of hope though. Hermione hadn't wanted to hold Peren's hand, which was a good sign. But like he said, tomorrow was another day and anything could change. He wasn't sure it was possible to dislike anyone more than he did Potter or Weasley, but it seemed Peren had just bumped himself up to the top of the list.

_That's it_, Draco thought. _Tomorrow we're ending this._

The next morning at breakfast, Draco ate quickly with the resolve that he was going to talk to Hermione afterward. He knew exactly what he was going to say to her: _Hermione, I'm sorry for everything. I'm a complete arse and undeserving of your friendship, but I'm begging you, please forgive me._ She'd have to forgive him after that- after all, Malfoy's never beg.

Everyone at the table finished eating and Hermione politely excused herself.

"I'm going to go too, if you don't mind," Draco said hastily to his parents, standing up. He suddenly felt his father's firm hand grasp his arm, stopping him from going anywhere else.

"Actually Draco, your Aunt Bella will be here in a few minutes to speak with you, so stay."

Draco groaned internally, and reluctantly sat back down as Hermione left the dining hall. What could his dear old aunt want with him? He supposed it wouldn't be long till he found out, for less than five minutes later his aunt walked through the door.

As Hermione wandered back up to her room she wondered what could be going on in the dining hall. Bellatrix Lestrange had only been here when Voldemort was here, and she never spoke one on one with Draco. It was strange to say the least. Maybe they had another mission for him? Hermione's stomach churned at the thought. _No, that can't be it,_ she told herself.

The next few hours she spent in her room reading a book, all the while listening for the sound of a door opening, indicating that Draco had returned to his room, but it never came. Tired of being there, she picked herself up and went to the library.

She opened the door and was immediately met with the sight of Draco sitting quietly in his usual lounge chair. His eyes shot up at her, and he put down his book. He was about to say something to her, but before he could, Hermione shut the door and returned to the place she had come from.

She still wasn't ready to talk to him, and when she did decide to talk to him, it wouldn't be at the scene of the crime.

Before she knew it, two o'clock had come around and she anxiously made her way to the garden to meet Isaac like she had the day before. She wasn't sure what to expect today from him. More shots at holding her hand? She wasn't sure how much longer she could deny him before he said something. That bridge would just have to be crossed when she got to it she supposed.

Hermione stepped through the door to the garden and breathed in the fresh air like she did every time she went outside. She spotted Isaac sitting on the fountain and was about to start walking towards him when she realized he wasn't alone, but had brought someone with him. Knowing she couldn't just leave the two of them out there, she begrudgingly made her way to the pair. This was certainly going to be an _interesting_ day.

Draco thought about going after Hermione when she closed the door to the library; after all, hadn't he decided that today he was going to fix everything? But, no, he had stayed put in his chair. It was obvious she still didn't want to talk to him, and he knew that trying to get her to talk to him would just result in him yelling at her and being met with her silence. Again, he made the decision that he would just have to wait for her to come to him.

Besides, he had other things to think about.

Aunt Bella had been there to tell him she would be visiting a lot more often now, and not to see her sister. She would be at the manor for him, and she would be instructing him in the arts of legilimency and occlumency. Apparently, the Dark Lord would have need of him in the near future and it was vital that he was a master in the two arts when it came time. Training had started right that moment.

Draco didn't mind that he had to learn legilimency and occlumency, in fact he enjoyed gaining new skills, and he was quite excited. What he was dreading was what he'd have to use them for. Anything coming from the Dark Lord couldn't be good.

Sighing, Draco picked the book he had been reading back up and continued on. His aunt had told him to start researching the theories on L and O so that it would be easier for her to teach him. Currently he was making his way through the tome,_ Beyond Mind Reading. _

He was nearly finished when he heard the door to the library open again. He looked up, hoping to find Hermione, but he was met instead with a darker pair of chocolate brown eyes.

He chuckled to himself as he set his book back down. He knew it was only a matter of time before _she_ showed up. He watched as she sat herself in front of him and smiled sweetly at him with only her lips.

"Draco," she said simply.

"Ithaca."


	12. Drink

**A/N:** Praise the gods I am actually updating! I can't believe it took me this long to write up this chapter and I'm sorry for the wait. Hopefully you won't have to wait that long for the next chapter. I do know exactly where I want this story to go and how it's going to end, it's just a matter of writing it out and getting there. Without further ado, here's Chapter 12! I hope you like it!

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked.

"I'm here to see you of course," Ithaca beamed. "I've missed you…"

Draco said nothing as she continued to peruse him. "Besides I couldn't let Isaac have all the fun at Malfoy Manor without me," she said.

_So Isaac's here again,_ Draco thought, becoming instantly irritated

"They're becoming more familiar with each other it seems- him and Luxurien. I mean, he was here just yesterday was he not? I'm still not sure how I feel about it, although it would be an amazing match for my family. Wouldn't you agree?"

Taking it to be a rhetorical question, Draco didn't humor her with an answer. He watched her as she stood up from her position in front of him and traipsed around the sofa, moving completely out of his peripheral vision. He could no longer feel her intimate presence around him, though he knew that didn't mean anything. If there was one thing Ithaca was good at it was being stealthy. She was like a cat: quiet and able to pounce on you before you knew she was there.

"Our union would be just as amazing though."

_Exactly like a cat_, Draco thought. He had managed not to flinch as Ithaca whispered into his ear, her hot breath tickling the little hairs. Her hands soon met his shoulders and she began to slowly massage them. He couldn't deny that the action felt good. He may not love her, but he was still a male.

"You're still convinced of that I see," Draco said.

"Of course I am," she sighed. "You used to love me Draco, what happened?"

"You went away…" he drawled, getting lost in her touch. "You never contacted me,"

"You never did either. It's a two way street, love," she said, her mouth back at his ear. He felt her tongue graze its edge, sending a pleasant shiver through him. He closed his eyes when she began to trail kisses down his neck. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should've been stopping her, but bringing it to the forefront was proving difficult.

"I grew up," he added as an answer.

"We've both grown up, but that doesn't mean our feelings have changed. Mine haven't at least,"

"It's been too long Ithaca, I'm not exactly the boy you once knew,"

"Of course you're not. You're a man now, and a sexy one if I do say so myself," she said, continuing to massage his shoulders. "How does that feel?" she asked.

"Great…" Draco murmured.

"Listen, how about we just forget the past, and move on to the future. You and me, Draco, together like we're supposed to be,"

_Yes, _Draco thought, enjoying the ministrations of Ithaca's hands. _You and me, together like we're supposed to be…_

Draco was brought out of his minor stupor by the sound of cheerful laughter traveling through the window.

"Ugh, have you ever heard anything so annoying?" Ithaca sneered.

On the contrary, Draco had never heard anything as beautiful as Hermione's laugh, for he had recognized it immediately as belonging to her. He hadn't heard her laugh in a while, and he wondered what it could have been to cause her to do so. He frowned when he finally remembered. Isaac Peren was with her.

Draco wished it was him.

In that moment of clarity, Draco realized that he would've rather been outside sitting and doing nothing with Hermione, than inside, being sensuously massaged by Ithaca.

"Stop." He commanded her, removing her hands from his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Ith, but you and I aren't going to be together,"

Ithaca let out a laugh, and then began running her hands through his hair. "Oh Draco, you silly boy. You think some blood traitor that just came into her inheritance is going to keep me from getting what I want?"

"This isn't about her, and don't call her that," Draco retorted.

A second later and he felt his head being forcefully pulled back so that it was resting on the top of the couch. Both sides of it were being held firmly by Ithaca's hands so that he couldn't move it and had no choice but to look solely at her.

"Don't you try and tell me this isn't about _Hermione _Luxurien," she seethed. "I saw the way you looked at her at the party Draco. So attentive to her you were! And those _glares_ you kept shooting at Isaac might've burned the entire manor down." She laughed at this for a second, but then her face once again became stern. "No one else may notice, darling, but I do. Your feelings for her are going beyond what they have a right to, and I won't stand for it. You and I are the endgame Draco, it's time you accept that and start living the life with me you're supposed to."

"And what if I refuse?" Draco spat. Ithaca released Draco from her grasp, but left her right hand on his shoulder, allowing it to graze across the blades of his back as she made her way around the couch so that she was in front of him again. Leaning into him, she looked him straight in the eyes and spoke quietly.

"Then my lovely godmother is going to get an earful," she smirked. "And it will only be a millisecond before she shares it with _him_. Who knows what he'll do to make sure you're not in the way?"

"Get out," Draco hissed as he registered what she said.

"I'm the path you have to take Draco, start walking it now before it's too late," Ithaca continued, ignoring his request.

"I said, get out, or I will _make _you get out."

Ithaca glared at him before straightening herself up. "Have it your way then love, but don't say I didn't warn you. You'll see I was right in the end." With a huff she left the room, her annoying heels clacking under her.

Draco buried his head in his hands and groaned. He was beyond frustrated with the way things were going, and he'd had enough. He wanted the Peren's gone, and he wanted Hermione back _now_, and he didn't care what he had to do to make it happen.

"Sorry about Ithaca. She found out I was coming and insisted that she come along- and I don't exactly have the power over her to tell her no," Isaac said, knowing that having two guests was not what Hermione had been expecting. When she had come outside to meet him, Ithaca was already up and walking towards her, and she knew it wasn't to say hi. The two girls exchanged greetings as they passed each other by merely saying each other's names, and then Ithaca disappeared into the manor, while Hermione took a seat next to Isaac.

"It's alright," Hermione said, though it was a lie. She hated that Ithaca was here to see Draco even though she had no right to. She knew she was being a complete hypocrite. If Isaac could come visit her, why shouldn't his sister be able to visit Draco?

"So how are you enjoying life at the manor?" Isaac said, moving the conversation away from Ithaca.

"It's not terrible," Hermione answered truthfully this time. "I have my own room, my own things, and I can_ almost _go where I please,"

"You like it then?"

"I suppose…" she said thoughtfully. "I mean, Narcissa and Draco are great. They make me feel welcome here. But in the end…I'm still a prisoner here, albeit a glorified one, and it's not-"

"Home?" Isaac finished for her.

"Yeah," Hermione smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm sorry you're not allowed to go where you please. If you could we would be able to do something other than sit on this fountain and roam this garden, as beautiful as it may be,"

"You've only been here twice, you can't possibly be bored of it already," Hermione said with amusement.

"That may be so, but I do plan on coming here more often- if that's alright with you of course,"

Hermione was suddenly aware that Isaac had somehow bridged the foot wide gap she had put between them when they first sat down, and was now so near to her side their thighs were practically touching.

"I haven't said no yet," she said, and a moment later she felt his hand wrap around hers. She looked up at him and saw that he was grinning, obviously pleased that she wasn't shying away this time. At least that's what appeared to him. Inside, Hermione's stomach was plummeting faster than a roller coaster, and steadily filling with butterflies.

_What are you doing Hermione? _The voice inside her head was shouting.

_I don't know, _she replied.

_Do you even like him? _It asked.

_Maybe…possibly…I don't know…_

_What about Draco?_

Yes, what about Draco? She knew he wouldn't be happy if she were to embark on a relationship with Isaac. It'd probably deepen the chasm that was put into their friendship even further, and this time it would be done by her. But even with that final thought, Hermione didn't release her hand from Isaac's.

"Tell me about how you and Potter became friends," he asked.

"That's a great story," Hermione said, rolling her eyes in sarcasm. "I guess you can say it started on our first ride on the Hogwarts Express…"

It didn't take long for her to tell the tale of her, Harry, and Ron's first meeting all the way up to the night of the Halloween feast and the escaped troll. She had just started telling him the reason why there was a troll in the castle when they noticed Ithaca making her way toward them. "Miss Luxurien," she said with no expression.

"Miss Peren," Hermione replied just as flatly.

Ithaca eyes roamed down to where Hermione's and Isaac's hands were joined. Hermione, noticing the action hastily removed her hand from the one clasped around it. She had forgotten that it had been there in the first place.

Ithaca smirked, and then turned to Isaac, no longer looking at Hermione. "I think it's time for us to leave brother,"

"You can leave, but I think I'll spend some more time with the lovely Hermione if you don't mind." Isaac said, making no indication that he intended to vacate his seat.

"No, you're both leaving."

All three heads turned to see Draco standing about five feet away from them, his face stern and authoritative.

"I do believe it's up to Miss Luxurien whether I get to stay or not," Isaac answered Just as fiercely, choosing that moment to stand.

"You'd think so, but it's really not. So now, I want both of you gone. You have two minutes to exit the gates before I hex you and turn you in for trespassing."

"Draco!" Hermione shouted, her head turned toward him in surprise at his boldness.

Draco chose to ignore her protest, his eyes fixed on the pair in front of him. "Clock's ticking Peren," he said when only Ithaca had made a move, while Isaac was still standing in front of him. "Do you really want to find out whether I'll make good on my word?" he challenged.

Hermione could tell by Isaac's stance that he didn't want to give in, and she hoped that he wouldn't. He and Draco stood for a few moments in a silent duel where their eyes were the only weapons, and then he huffed in defeat.

"It was a pleasure getting to spend part of my day with you Hermione, no matter how short," he said, bending over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I hope we see each other again." Isaac began to walk away but not before sending Draco a hard glare.

Hermione and Draco said nothing to each other as the two siblings walked away. She watched as their figures turned the corner leading towards the front path and out of her sight. The moment she was sure they wouldn't be heard, she snapped. "You had no right to do that!"

"Actually, I had every right," Draco responded coolly, though it probably wasn't the best approach. His pride was at its high however and wouldn't let him change it. "This is my manor, not yours, and I determine who gets to be on its premises,"

Hermione's chest heaved with words she wanted to throw at him, but she kept them in. She knew there was nothing she could say that he wouldn't have a retort for; it was one his many annoying talents. Without another word she shoved passed him and back into the manor.

"And where do you think you're going?" Draco yelled.

"Away from you!" Hermione seethed.

"Are you and Peren an item now then?" he asked, ignoring that she probably wanted him far away from her.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't," he said a little too quickly. They were back in the house at this point, and already ascending the stairs.

"Then why bother asking? If you don't care then it shouldn't matter who I choose to spend my time with, forge a relationship with, allow to hold my hand, kiss me-"

"He _kissed _you?"

"No, but I've decided I won't stop him if he does." They were now at her bedroom and she was wrenching the door open. "But like I said, it shouldn't matter to you because, like_ you _said, _you don't care_."

And her door was promptly slammed in Draco's face.

The tension was high between the two on Saturday, and it was a miracle that no one questioned them about it when they showed up to breakfast separately and with no words shared between them at all. Although Narcissa could tell once again that something was amiss, she let her eyes do the talking this time as they flickered between Hermione and her son. She tried to make pleasant conversation, but all their speech was directed solely at her, and not once did they even glance at each other.

After breakfast, Hermione hurried to her room, not sure what to do with her day. She knew there would be no contact with Isaac after yesterday. Draco would see to that.

Groaning in frustration, she burrowed her head into her pillow, lifting it into her face and squeezing the sides with her hands.

Hermione jumped when she heard the pop of apparition sound through her room, and turned to find her little house elf standing right next to her bed.

"I'm sorry to startle you miss," Izzie said, "Miss Parkinson is here to see you."

"Pansy?" Hermione said in surprise.

"Yes, me!" Pansy said as she stepped into Hermione's room and threw her hands up in the air like a diva. "Hurry and get ready, we're going out."

"Going out?"

"Yes, going out. You know shopping, having lunch, doing whatever tickles our fancy? We said we were friends Granger, and this is what I do with my female friends. Besides, you look like you could do with a day outside the manor,"

"What should I wear?" she asked, though Pansy was already on it, taking the liberty of rummaging through her closet.

"Something cute and comfortable," Pansy instructed her. "We're going to Diagon Alley, so it doesn't have to be too flashy. I have lots planned for us today. We have appointments at Madame Astana's Nail Salon, and then Madame Asmara's Hair Salon- they're sister's if you were wondering. And then we're going to that new boutique ARGYLE, which I found out doesn't just sell things with argyle on them, thank goodness."

"How's this?" Hermione said, stepping out from behind her dressing screen. She had on a pearl colored fitted blouse that had a wide neckline, and it was tucked into a black circle skirt that went to her mid-thigh. On her feet she donned black sandals with thin straps that had a small black bow in the middle.

"I love it," Pansy smiled. "Now don't forget this," she said, handing Hermione the purple wristlet she had gotten her for her birthday. Hermione opened it and saw that Pansy had already packed it with the "essentials": lip gloss, a mirror, a hair brush, and a card with Draco's Gringotts account information.

"Does Draco know I have this?" she said, taking the card out.

"Of course he does. Okay, all I have to do is change your appearance, bind you to me, and we're golden," Pansy said, and with a flick of her wand Hermione looked like a younger version of Narcissa.

"Bind?" Hermione questioned.

"It's so you can't go ten feet without me by your side. If you do the consequence would not feel pleasant. It's just one of the precautions the Dark Lord has asked us to do should we choose to take you off the manor grounds,"

"I see."

Hermione wasn't sure she liked the idea of that, but what else did she expect? For them to trust that she wouldn't run away?

_Well would you? _The voice in her head asked.

In all honesty, the thought hadn't even entered Hermione's mind for some reason. It didn't matter now though, because she was _bound_ to Pansy. Escape was now impossible.

"How come I was able to go out before without being bound?"

"You were. You are bound to all the Malfoy's," Pansy said matter-of-factly.

"What?!"

"Seriously Hermione, you really think they'd just take you out without taking any precautions?" Pansy said as they exited the room.

_Point taken, _Hermione scoffed.

"I thought I heard your voice," they both heard Draco say the minute they were in the hall. He was leaning against his doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest- the usual Draco Malfoy I-caught-you stance. "Thought you could escape without saying hi to me Pans?"

"Well I wasn't sure where you'd be," Pansy said with a smile, making up an excuse. "Besides my business today is with Hermione, not you."

Pansy took that moment to notice that Hermione and Draco weren't looking at each other. In fact, Hermione had gone ahead to the foot of the stairs and was waiting for Pansy there.

"In case you forgot, Miss Luxurien's business is my business. I am her-"

"Yes, you're her keeper, blah, blah blah, blah blah," Hermione heard Pansy cut him off, and she smirked. She loved how Pansy and Blaise could get away with talking to him as if they were equal, even though they knew they weren't. They just had that type of relationship. "Are you really going to stop me Draco?"

There was silence for a few moments, and Hermione knew without looking at him that Draco's face was probably taut with annoyance. She heard Pansy whisper something she didn't catch to him, and then the sound of his door being shut closed.

"Alright, we can go now," Pansy said, joining Hermione at the stairs.

"_Don't worry Draco," _Pansy had said. _"I won't lose her,"_

Draco had simply nodded in response before retreating back into his room. He knew he could trust Pansy, but it didn't stop him from wishing he was out there with them. Unfortunately, he had two meetings to attend to today: One with his Aunt Bellatrix, and the other with Lord Voldemort himself.

He waited silently in his room for him to be called to the Dark Lord's presence, mentally preparing himself for the meeting. He wasn't sure what the subject of his visit with his _Master _was going to pertain to this time, but as far as he knew he hadn't done anything to upset him.

Draco knew exactly what he'd be doing with his aunt- more occlumency lessons. After the Peren's had left she had come by to continue his training from that morning. He was already close to mastering it, but he had much more training to do. So far he hadn't been able to fully close his mind to Bellatrix, but he had been successful in keeping some things from her. Hopefully after a few more practice sessions he'd get it completely right. His Aunt wasn't really one for patience and she was already getting weary of his learning speed.

Five minutes later Wren popped him, alerting him of the Dark Lord's arrival. He stood up heavily from where he had perched himself on his bed and fixed his cloak before walking out to whatever fate awaited him in the dining room.

"Relax my boy," Lord Voldemort greeted him with an off putting smile. "I only requested to see you to find out how Miss Luxurien is doing, you are her keeper after all." He was sitting in his usual seat at the head of the table; Draco took the one at the opposite end.

"She is doing fine my Lord," Draco said as confidently as he could.

"I sense trouble in your mind regarding her,"

"We have had our scrupples," Draco answered honestly. Luckily his occlumency was strong enough to block the exact reasons why. "Nothing out of the ordinary,"

"Is there anything I should be aware of?" Voldemort asked with a hiss. "Anything that could possibly get in the way of my… intentions for her?"

Draco didn't even have to think hard for a response. "Isaac Peren, my Lord,"

"Ahh… Amett's boy. I take it he has been expressing an interest in Miss Luxurien?"

"Yes my Lord, he has come to see her at the manor twice now,"

"I see…" Voldemort said with a contemplative tone. "I suppose there isn't anything wrong with that,"

_What?! _Draco's thoughts shouted loudly.

"You obviously don't feel the same," Voldemort smirked. "I am only using Miss Luxurien as a host for my heir, Young Mr. Malfoy. I have no interest in making her a romantic attachment; you are already aware of this. If there is someone worthy of her who wants to claim her as his I have no objection, as long as he does so _after _she has served her duty to me. Isaac is a fine young man who comes from a notable family. He would suit Miss Luxurien just fine in my opinion. Wormtail!"

There was a pop of apparition as Voldemort's pathetic crony appeared in the room. "Yes, my honorable Master?" he said while bowing so low his nose was practically touching the cold tile flooring.

"I need you to contact Amett Peren straightaway. Tell him_, _to tell his boy that he is not to lay a hand on Miss Luxurien in any way that could result in procreation, unless he wants to meet a painful and untimely death. Do you understand Wormtail?"

"Ye- yes my Lord," Wormtail stammered before disappearing.

"That is all," Voldemort said, returning his attention to Draco. "Bellatrix is waiting for you in the Shifting room."

"Thank you, my Lord." Draco gave a polite curt of his head before swiftly turning around and leaving the room.

Draco grumbled angrily as he made his way to the third floor of the manor to meet his aunt. Voldemort had not seen Peren as as much of a threat as Draco thought he would. He had practically encouraged it!

_Pfft,_ Draco scoffed. _The day Peren suits Granger is the day Weasley owns this manor. _

"Man, I am tired," Pansy groaned as she sat down in the chair across from Hermione. They were at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream parlour, taking a greatly needed break after running around half of Diagon Alley. They ordered two hot fudge sundaes and then began to look at the purchases they had accumulated so far.

"Thanks for taking me out Pans," Hermione said. "I really did need to get out of the manor-"

"Forgive him," Pansy said straightforwardly and completely out of nowhere.

"Hmm?" Hermione said, her eyes shooting up to meet Pansy's

"Whatever Draco has done, forgive him."

"How do you-"

"Hermione, this is me you're talking to. I could sense something was wrong the moment I stepped onto the grounds. Draco has done something to upset you, and I'm telling you to forgive him."

"You don't even know what he did,"

"Then enlighten me because I'd really like to know what has torn the two of you apart. Is it the Peren's?"

"They're part of it I suppose. But they're not where it started…" Hermione gave a sigh before continuing. She told Pansy all about Harry and Ron's letters, Draco's slip of the tongue, and his rude dismissal of the Peren's the day before.

"Oh Draco, Draco, Draco," Pansy muttered into her hands when Hermione had finished. "That boy really let's his pride get the best of him sometimes,"

"You're telling me," Hermione agreed.

"I'm sorry he did what he did Hermione, but you need to forgive him. You said so yourself that you understood his reasons. By not forgiving him you are letting your pride control you just as much as he does. I believe you've spent enough time with Draco to know who he is now Hermione, and you know he's not that boy from Hogwarts anymore. Forgive him."

Hermione thought about what Pansy had said for the rest of the night. She knew Pansy was right, but getting over your pride was really easier said than done.

Saturday unfortunately started off the same as the last few days had: painfully quiet.

Hermione had claimed the library as her place of refuge while Draco had another meeting with his aunt Bellatrix in the Shifting room. She had needed a place to get her thoughts in order before he finished though, and a library had always been helpful in that aspect.

Today was the day she was going to forgive Draco. She had decided this the night before, when all she could think about was how much she missed spending the day with him. That, and two entries from her mother's journal had helped her realize how ridiculous she was being by dragging it out.

_Jerrick's not talking to me, _the first one had started out. _See, I never actually told him and Chris that I was seeing Andrew, or anyone at all for that matter. It's just that, if I had, I knew they'd both have heart attacks, considering how we all had loathed him at one point or another. Chris isn't upset, thank goodness. He said he somehow already knew, and that it's going to take some getting used to, but he understands my reasons for keeping it to myself for a little bit. At least he's speaking to me. Jerrick isn't saying a word. In fact he hasn't made eye contact with me since I told them, which is… three days ago this exact minute. I can see how he would be angry, seeing as how close we were to a relationship. But he didn't make his move, and someone else did. I'm not sure what to do. I care about Andrew a lot, and I don't want to stop seeing him. I think… I think I'm in love with him. As much as I love Jerrick, I just can't give Andrew up now. To do so would be too painful. I still have Chris by my side, hopefully Jerrick will come around soon._

As Hermione was prone to do, she had analyzed the situation and come to the conclusion that Jerrick just needed to grow up, and forgive Delia for doing what she had thought was best at the time. It was then that she realized her situation with Draco wasn't too much different from her mother's. In essence, Hermione was being the Jerrick to Delia's Draco.

After reading the following entry, Hermione knew it was time to clear the air with her friend.

_Today was one of the best days of my life. Andrew told me he loves me! HE LOVES ME! I'm so high off it right now I can't think even think straight. We were just sitting by the lake and he said something funny that I can't even remember right now, and I couldn't stop laughing, and then he started laughing because I was laughing, and then he said, "I love when you laugh, I love your laugh, hell I just love you," and then he kissed me! I said it back of course._

_And another great thing that happened today: Jerrick forgave me! He said he was sorry, and that he knows I had my reasons for not telling them, and that if Andrew makes me happy then he's not going to get in the way. Now I have both my friends back, and a boyfriend that loves me. Definitely a red letter day._

If Jerrick could forgive Delia for doing what she thought was right, no matter how upset it made him, then she could forgive Draco for doing what he thought was right.

Now if only Draco would finish with this meeting so she could tell him.

To her disappointment the rest of the day passed by without a glimpse of Draco. Hermione had read book after book waiting nervously for him to appear, but he never did.

_Maybe he just went back to his room. It's not like you've given him any reasons to seek you out, _Hermione reminded herself. Sighing, she decided to go check the Shifting room and see if he and Bellatrix were still in there.

Hermione cautiously pressed her ear up against the door of the room, listening for any noise. It soon became apparent that they were still in there, and Hermione jumped back from the volume of Bellatrix's shrill voice.

"HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO PRACTICE THIS BEFORE YOU GET IT RIGHT?" She heard her yell. "YOUR IMCOMPETENCE WILL NOT PLEASE THE DARK LORD, DRACO! NOW, WHAT DO YOU SEE?"

Hermione backed away from the door, curious as to what Draco was practicing, but knowing that eavesdropping probably wouldn't go over so well if she was caught.

Choosing not to return to the library, she went back upstairs and towards her room, even though she knew there would be nothing there to entertain her.

She noticed how the rest of the manor was quiet. Narcissa probably wasn't back yet, Lucius was most likely in his study, and the house elves were to be unseen unless called. Hermione smirked as she realized she could probably walk anywhere she wanted and not be bothered, and she knew just where she wanted to go.

Draco had told her not to give any thought to what was behind those three doors on the first floor, for the one door that led to that set of stairs, but of course she was going to do just the opposite of that. Harry and Ron had completely ruined her need to obey the rules when her curiosity was involved. She carefully followed the staircase down to the second floor and just a few yards away from the steps leading to the first level when Izzie popped up in front of her.

"OH!" Hermione shrieked, jumping backwards and falling gracefully on her back, her head hitting the floor with a thump.

"Oh my! Izzie is so sorry Miss! Is my mistress hurt?"

"No, I think I'm alright," Hermione said, but she winced when she tried to get up.

"Izzie was bidden to inform Miss that it's time for dinner," Izzie said, about to help Hermione on her feet, but another hand found its way around Hermione's hand.

"I got you," Draco said, bending over to put one arm around her back while his other hand continued to hold onto her. In one movement he had her back on her feet again.

"Are you alright?" he asked flatly.

"Yes, thank you," Hermione replied in a soft tone. If Draco noticed the change in how she was speaking to him he wasn't letting on, because he simply nodded and continued his way to the dining hall, Hermione trailing behind him.

She immediately stopped when she stepped inside the grand room. There seated at the head of the table was Voldemort, and the rest of the table was filled with his band of Death Eaters. Once again it was an evil dinner party at the Malfoys.

"Welcome, Miss Luxurien," Voldemort greeted her. "I have your seat prepared for you," he said, motioning to her usual place next to him. Without making eye contact with anyone else in the room she stepped over to the spot and sat down.

"Let's eat," Voldemort proclaimed, motioning for Hermione to take her share first before the flourish of food being disposed of began.

Hermione expected everyone to leave once they were done dining, but with a flick of his wand Voldemort had the table cleared and everyone had quieted down.

"Now that everyone has satisfied their appetites, let's get on to the real reason I have invited you all here today," he said, rising from his chair and casually striding around the left of the table. "The potion I have commissioned that will impregnate Miss Hermione Luxurien with my heir has been successfully completed."

Hermione let in a sharp intake of breath as quiet applause broke out around the table. She had known this day was coming, but she wasn't any prepared for it nonetheless.

"She will now consume it, and in nine months time Daemon Abaddon will be born to continue the legacy of I, Lord Voldemort. Wormtail!"

Wormtail hurriedly entered the room, carrying an ornate silver tray with single vial sitting on it. He brought it to his master who then picked it up in his hands and uncorked it.

"Take it," he instructed Hermione, holding it in front of her.

Her hands, which had been in her lap, clasped together in a death grip, quivered as she brought them up to take hold of the vial. It was crystal, and the liquid inside was a vibrant cerulean blue, one of Hermione's favorite colors. She didn't have time to admire its beauty though.

"Drink." Voldemort commanded.

So Hermione put the vial to her lips, closed her eyes, and drank.


	13. Locked

**A/N: **Yay! I'm getting this way up sooner than the last one :) I'm still not sure about how I wrote this chapter, but it will have to do. This was my second time attempting it after accidentally deleting my first draft of it, which had some nice sentences that I just didn't remember well enough to recreate. Oh well, life goes on. Let me know if you spot any errors, and I hope you like it!

Hermione's feet did the leading as she made her way to her room, her mind too occupied with what she had just done for her to be really conscious of where she was going.

"_Drink." _He had said, and so she had complied. It had taken only two seconds to drain the vial of the concoction inside it, so quick it didn't have a chance to be one of those short moments that seem to last forever.

The potion hadn't tasted bad. It was quite the contrary actually; she dared to say that she almost found it pleasant- it was somewhat strawberry in flavor, and went down like juice. Only the minor characteristic of what it was going to do to her kept it from being a 10/10.

As soon as she had finished, she set the vial back on its tray, and Voldemort drew out his wand, pointing it at her abdomen and speaking an incantation.

_Gravo. _That was the word he used to trigger the potion, and though she hadn't felt any different in the following seconds, she knew that at that moment whatever had been done was beginning to trick her reproductive system into thinking that one of her eggs had been naturally fertilized. There was now a baby growing inside her.

_Gravo._ The word didn't want to see to leave her mind.

It was Latin. One of its definitions meant to impregnate, so naturally it would be the companion word to whatever potion they had used. Another of its meanings, however, was _bound_.

And that was exactly what Hermione was. Bound.

Bound to bearing a child that had half the DNA of Lord Voldemort. Bound to watching that child be raised in his father's vile footsteps. Bound to see him rise to his dark potential as the next Dark Lord.

And _she _would be his mother. _She- _Hermione Luxurien formerly Granger, #1 "mudblood", best friend of Harry Potter, devoted member of the Order of the Phoenix…

The list of things that made her being this child's mother preposterous could go on and on.

What were they thinking?

_Wait a minute… _Hermione thought. _I'll be his mother. Me. _

And then she smirked to herself.

Just because she was pureblood royalty on the outside, didn't mean she still wasn't a muggleborn witch at heart, and she'd let her son know that. He may be taught Voldemort's ideologies, but she'd make sure he didn't live them. She'd raise a double agent for the light side straight from the womb. It of course would have to be accomplished in secret, but she had approximately nine months to figure out that obstacle.

Hermione gave a small, mischievous chuckle as she thought about it; the Dark Lord being taken down by his own flesh and blood. It'd be too perfect.

_Maybe having this baby won't be the worst thing to happen in my life, _she mused as she opened the door to her room.

"What's with the giggling? Shouldn't you be bawling your eyes out right about now?"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice, but immediately began to calm herself as she took in the cross-legged Pansy sitting comfortably on her bed.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Hermione said as she took a breath, clutching the fabric covering her heart.

"Sorry. Anyway, why aren't you crying? I came prepared with a whole box of tissues!" Pansy complained, shaking what was indeed a freshly opened box of tissues in Hermione's face.

"I think I passed the crying stage a long time ago Pansy. It's not like crying will change anything, except the state of my face,"

"You're not upset at all?"

"Well, I'm not happy about it, but it's not like I wasn't expecting this, and yes when I found out that today was the day, I wasn't exactly ready- but it's over now, and I can't do anything about it. Now I just need to move forward," Hermione answered. Although she and Pansy now considered themselves friends, she wasn't sure how much she could trust the girl. Her secret plans on how she would raise her son would have to remain just that, a secret.

"Wow…" Pansy mused in disbelief. "So let me get this straight- you were just impregnated, _through _a potion, with Lord Voldemort's spawn, and you're really just going to take this in stride?"

"I suppose," Hermione shrugged.

"Okay then…" Pansy said, nodding her head in thought. Hermione had thought the conversation to be over when Pansy suddenly turned to her and grabbed her hands. "Okay, let's just forget the Voldemort part then, since that doesn't seem to be an issue at the moment- You are going to be _pregnant. _First, you'll have morning sickness and there'll be a lot of vomiting at all times of the day because apparently it's not just restricted to mornings. _Then,_ you're hormones will go crazy and your emotions will follow suit. You'll gain weight- so much weight, and your feet will swell, and you won't even realize it because you won't be able to see them! And all because you'll have a baby taking up residency in your uterus! And in nine months you're going to have to _push_ it_ out_ of your _vagina_. And _then_, after all of that, _you_ have to be its mother."

Pansy finished her rant, her eyes focused solely on Hermione's, watching as they steadily turned from a gaze of resiliency to a widened one of horror.

"OH MY GOD!" Hermione shrieked, jumping up from the bed, and throwing her hands to her face.

"That's all I wanted to see!" Pansy said at her friend's reaction.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Hermione continued, breathing heavily while pacing the room. "I can't do this! What am I going to do? There must be some way out of it! They used magic to get it in me, there must be some magical way to get it out, and to bypass everything in between. Don't you shake your head at me Pansy I-don't-know-your-middle-name Parkinson!"

"Sorry, I already did some research on that for you, and there's nothing. Natural labor or cesarean are your only options. But hey, you have nine months to prepare for it! And my middle name's Viola,"

"Why the hell did you need to bring all that up? I was _fine_ for goodness sakes!"

"I know, but I was looking forward to a freak out tonight. Forgive me?"

"Fine, but don't mention any of that ever again. Ugh, I need to sit down," Hermione groaned, sitting back down on the bed, but she quickly changed her mind. "No I need to stand up… no, I need, I need…"

"What do you need?"

"I need…" Hermione hustled out of the room, heading straight for the stairs, with Pansy in her wake. They said nothing to each other and as Hermione hurriedly led them to the third floor, stopping in front of the Shifting room, and promptly shoving its door open.

"This," she said, completing her unfinished statement. "I need this,"

"What is it?" Pansy asked, taking in the room Hermione had brought them into.

"It's a home movie theater," Hermione smiled. It was just what she had asked the room for.

On the wall opposite the door was a big screen TV with an entertainment system next to it. A large couch was situated in the center of the room with a coffee table in front of it. Against the wall that held the door were a refrigerator and a snack bar.

"What does it do?" Pansy said as she went up to the TV and swiped her hand across the screen in interest. Hermione found the remote and turned it on, causing Pansy to jump.

"I think it will be easier if you just sit on the couch and I'll explain as we go," Hermione laughed. There was a selection of videos on one of the entertainment shelves, and she quickly picked out the one the room knew she would want to see. She found the VCR and pushed it in.

"Okay Pans, let me introduce you to the most wonderful muggle invention called the movie," she said, taking a seat next to her friend. "For right now, just think of it as a play, but the actors won't be here with us."

"All right…" Pansy said skeptically. "What's the play called?"

"It's called _When Harry Met Sally_, and I love it and you will too."

Without further ado, Hermione pushed _play_.

Draco sat in his room, unsure what to do with himself. He knew Hermione was probably having a hard time right now, and he really wanted to be there for her, but he doubted if he went to her she'd welcome him with open arms. Besides, Pansy was with her.

He then heard the unmistakable sound of Hermione's door being opened, and was suddenly off his bed. The two girls were definitely in the hallway now, their footsteps giving them away. Draco opened his door slightly and peeked out of the sliver he had made. They were heading for the stair case leading down.

Not caring how rude and inappropriate it would be for him to follow them, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself and quietly stalked them.

Hermione was in a huff, as he had expected her to be, though she had almost fooled him with her calm demeanor after she had taken the potion. She led Pansy to the shifting room, and he nearly bumped into the raven haired girl when she completely stopped the minute Hermione opened the door.

When he regrouped from his close encounter he looked into the room and had to keep himself from gasping, which Pansy had just done the moment before.

On the opposite wall was some huge device that he knew just _had_ to be muggle. Not that that bothered him anymore. There was also a very comfortable couch that, had he not been disillusioned, he would've taken the liberty to lounge on. Knowing he couldn't risk getting caught he hurried to a corner of the room he was sure to be unfound and sat himself down.

He listened intently and with great intrigue as Hermione proceeded to explain to Pansy what they would be doing with the huge black box. Apparently there was this muggle thing called a _movie_ that they would be watching and it was called _When Harry Met Sally._

_Well this is going to be interesting, _he thought as he leaned back against the wall he had chosen.

"Wow…just…wow," Pansy said, an hour and a half or so later when the movie had finished. Draco concurred with her sentiments. Movies were _great. _He wondered how the wizarding world could have gone on without them. The story for this one wasn't too bad either, and that Harry fellow had some pretty valid statements about the relationships between men and women. He didn't particularly care for the blokes name though.

"So muggles just come up with these stories, ask people to act in them, and then _record _it so others can watch when it's done?"

"Uh-huh," Hermione replied smugly.

"It's _brilliant_. Can we watch another one?"

"Of course we can,"

Hermione went over to the movie shelf and after scanning the titles for a few moments, pulled one from its spot and put it in the VCR.

"This one's called _Dirty Dancing," _she said as she reclaimed her spot on the couch.

"I like it already," Pansy grinned.

Once again Draco settled back into his spot against the wall. He wished he could've joined them in devouring the snacks on the small table, or even sitting on the couch, but his survival instincts told him to stay put.

Another hour and forty minutes later and they had completed that movie as well. Draco wasn't sure if he cared for all the singing and dancing, though Hermione and Pansy seemed completely enthralled by it. He even caught Hermione singing along to a few of the songs.

"I think I could watch movies all day," Pansy mused.

"There's enough movies for you to watch for an entire lifetime," Hermione laughed. "But it wouldn't do a lot for your social life if you stayed at home all day,"

"I suppose not. Are all films romantic love stories?"

"No. There are dramatic movies, comedies, horror films, science fiction, action… there are tons of genres to choose from. We can try out a different one each time you're here if you like,"

"Yes I would like that!" Pansy said, clapping her hands together erratically before calming down again. "You know… that first movie kind of reminded me of you and Draco,"

Draco had been listening to everything Pansy had said to this point, but with her last statement his body suddenly went stiff and his ears shot up.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said.

"You know… the boy and the girl initially hated each other, and then they formed an unlikely friendship, they fell for each other-"

"Okay, I'll stop you right there Pans- I have _not_ fallen for Draco!"

Draco's invisible shoulders slumped. Had she really fallen for Peren instead?

"Yes you have," Pansy teased. "It's written all over the red of your face. And you can deny it all you want, but you know it's the truth. Anyway- continuing from before I was so _rudely_ interrupted- some sort of conflict comes between them, but they end up working it all out and living happily ever after. The details may not be exactly the same, but the main points are. They might as well have called the film "When Draco Met Hermione". Now, you and Draco are still in the conflict part of the story. I take it you haven't forgiven him yet due to his lack of presence here right now, so the question is when you're going to do it,"

Pansy finally finished her little explanation, and Draco waited patiently to hear what Hermione's answer would be.

"I don't know yet…soon though," Hermione said, and Draco's spirits were slightly lifted. "I was going to do it earlier, but Voldemort and his plan got in the way,"

"Well it's a start, and once this whole pregnancy thing is done you'll be on your way to your happily ever after in no time,"

"Pansy… I haven't fallen for Draco!"

"Alright, alright, you haven't fallen for Draco. Let's talk about Isaac Peren then and all this time you've been spending with him,"

"We haven't spent a whole lot of time together. He was only over twice before Draco had him promptly banished,"

Pansy snorted. "Typical Draco- but we'll get to that later. Tell me what did you guys do?"

Hermione told Pansy about the conversations and walks she'd had with Isaac, and both of the times he had attempted to and succeeded in holding her hand.

"So… why didn't you want him holding your hand?" Pansy asked.

"Hmm?"

"The first time, when he only tried to hold your hand, how come you pulled away?"

"I don't know…it just felt awkward for some reason, like it was too soon for him to be doing that,"

"I see. And the second time, how did that feel?"

"Well like I told you he had been too quick for me to stop him, and so I just left it there-"

"Yes, I got that, but how did it _feel? _After he grabbed your hand and you couldn't fulfill your kneejerk reaction to pull away and he was now holding it, how did it feel to you? Was it not so bad, did it suddenly feel right…?"

Draco, who was sitting perfectly upright so that he could see both girls' faces clearly noticed how flustered Hermione was getting with the onslaught of questions. He felt sorry for her, but not too much since he was dying to know just as much as Pansy.

There was silence for a moment as it looked like Hermione was pondering the question, and then she finally spoke.

"It felt wrong," she said. "That's why I initially wanted to pull away,"

"And why did it feel wrong?" Pansy continued, excitement beginning to coat her voice.

"Because I knew Draco wouldn't like it. I knew he'd be upset if he found out, and as upset as I was about everything he'd done I didn't want us fighting forever. I knew that if I started something with Isaac, there'd be no going back to Draco,

"So then how come you continued to let him hold it?"

"I don't know…I guess part of it is I don't like making things awkward, and suddenly pulling away would've made things awkward. Plus, I suppose there was a part of me that wanted to prove something,"

"Which would be…?"

"That Draco's opinion doesn't matter to me, that I could be with Isaac Peren if I wanted to and not feel guilty about it,"

"But you would feel guilty about it,"

"Yes. I told Draco that if Isaac tried to kiss me that I wouldn't stop him, but I know I would,"

"Because you care about Draco,"

"Yes,"

"Because you've _fallen _for him,"

Hermione swallowed. She couldn't believe what she was about to admit to Pansy, let alone to herself. There really was no other explanation for it.

"Yes." She said.

"Ha!"Pansy squealed, doing a little jig with her shoulders in her seat. "See! I told you I knew it!"

Draco was frozen in his spot as what Hermione had said registered.

She had fallen for him. She had just admitted it out loud to Pansy, and unbeknownst to her, himself.

"This is just too perfect- you love Draco, Draco loves you-"

_Excuse me?! _Draco thought.

"Hey, I never said I loved him,"

"Alright, you don't love him," Pansy groaned while rolling her eyes. "But you care about him _a lot_,"

"I'll admit that much," Hermione said, albeit sheepishly.

"Damn, I am good at this," Pansy smirked.

"Yes, you were right again. But what makes you think Draco cares about me as much as you think he does?"

"Like it isn't obvious enough. First, he spends all his time with you and enjoys it, when he could just be merely making sure you're staying out of trouble. Second, he's been there for you through everything that's happened since you got here. Third, he kept those letters from you because he thought it was for your best interest, which I'm hoping you've accepted by now. Fourth he tried relentlessly to have your forgiveness, and let me tell you, Draco Malfoy doesn't apologize to many people or care about earning their forgiveness,"

As Draco listened to Pansy's points, he knew he couldn't deny it any longer, as much as he wanted to. Somewhere down the road he had grown to care about Hermione Granger in a way that went beyond just being friends. After everything she and Pansy had just spent the past half hour talking about, he just wanted to grab her and kiss her, but he held himself back. That would just ruin it before it even began. She'd probably hex him to Timbuktu if she knew he was there.

"And let's not even get started on his jealous actions towards Peren," Pansy continued. "And have you really not noticed the way he looks at you?"

"I have," Hermione said. "I just didn't want to read too much into it in case I was wrong,"

"Well you're not, so starting tomorrow can we please get this love train on the road? You two are driving me nuts,"

"Fine. Tomorrow. I will forgive him tomorrow,"

"Great, now put in another movie, and I'm going to go to the bathroom,"

Draco stood up and carefully followed Pansy out of the room, more elated than he'd felt in years.

He would've stayed and watched whatever movie they were going to watch next, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep himself away from Hermione if he had stayed another moment in the same room. He'd have to wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be _great._

Tomorrow was not great.

It was already well into the afternoon and Hermione still had given no indication that she had anything to say to him. And judging by Pansy's borderline angry glances at her during breakfast and lunch, she was just as anxious as he was for Hermione to speak up.

Not knowing what else to do with himself, Draco sat in the library, studying more for his lessons with his Aunt Bellatrix. He was so engrossed he didn't even look up until Wren popped into the room.

"Young Master, Miss Parkinson has requested your presence in the shifting room right away," the elf said, bowing.

Draco nodded, and closed his book up as he stood. Pansy wasn't the one he wanted to talk to, but if she wanted to see him he wasn't going to say no.

"So I was thinking I'd let you look at the movies on that shelf and let you pick out one yourself for us to watch." Hermione asked. Pansy had insisted that they watch another movie, and practically dragged her to the Shifting Room, which had already prepared itself per Pansy's request.

"Alright," Pansy said, heading towards the shelf. Hermione watched as she sifted through the titles, pulling the cases out of some that looked to interesting while not bothering with others. Finally, she settled on one and thrust it into Hermione's hands.

Hermione smiled at Pansy's choice. "I love this one. You want to learn how to put it in yourself?"

"You can do it. I actually need to floo my mother and let her know I'll be staying longer, so I'll be back in a few,"

Hermione busied herself with setting the movie up while Pansy was gone, already finding herself humming the music from her favorite scene.

_Pansy's taking a while, _she thought after ten minutes had passed and there was still no Pansy. Not wanting to sit through another run of the menu loop she pressed play, and took a seat on the couch; she'd just start the movie over when Pansy got there. It was another five minutes later before she heard the door open and close.

"What took you so long?" She asked, turning her head towards the door. She froze as she realized it wasn't Pansy that had come through the door.

"Draco."

The two of them looked at each other for a few moments, and it became clear to Hermione that he had not been expecting her to be there.

"Wren said Pansy wanted to see me," he spoke, not moving from where he stood just a couple feet away from the doorway.

Suddenly the door closed shut, it's slam louder than the volume of the movie. Both Hermione and Draco's heads snapped towards it, wondering what was going on, and then there was the distinct sound of it locking. Their eyes met for another second of panic before Draco went to the door and began to furiously pull on the handle.

"Is it not opening?" Hermione said as she joined him by the door.

"No, I just keep pulling on it for fun,"

"Well did you try unlocking it?"

He gave a snicker, and then promptly turned away from her. "No."

Hermione sighed and reached behind him and to his back pocket where she knew he kept his wand. He jumped back when her hand inadvertently brushed against his side, and grabbed her hand before it reached its goal.

"Trying to molest me now that we're locked in a room together?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Hermione scoffed and managed to grab the wand with her other hand which he was not holding captive. "I was just getting this for you since you seem to have forgotten that you own one," she said, handing it to him. "Alohomora should work. And believe me, if I wanted to molest you I would've already,"

"Yeah, right," Draco said before pointing his wand at the lock and performing the spell. Hermione put her hand on the handle and pushed down, but the door didn't budge. She tried again and again, only to find herself doing exactly what Draco had been doing before.

"Any other ideas?"

"Blast it off?" Hermione suggested.

"Or…you two could make up and I'll unlock the door for you," they heard Pansy say from the other side.

"Pansy, open up this door now!" Hermione shouted.

"I just said that they need to make up first! Did I not just say that?"

"Yes I think you did," someone else said, and Hermione groaned when she realized it was Blaise."Here's the deal. The door will unlock when you two get over this little tiff you're having, because frankly we're tired of it,"

"And don't even try getting Wren, Izzy, or your mother to open it for you," Pansy continued. "Because it won't work. See you when you get out!"

Before either Hermione or Draco could reply, both of their friends had fled, their footsteps echoing down the hall. They looked at each other silently, the only sound in the room coming from the movie, which had yet to be stopped.

"So is there something you wanted to say to me then?" Draco asked, getting straight to the point.

Hermione huffed. "Why do you automatically assume that it's something I have to say that will fix this?"

"Because I've already said sorry a thousand times."

_Damn, he's right, _Hermione thought. _A little exaggerated, but he's still right._

She wasn't sure how to get the words out though. 'I forgive you' just sounded so trite and easy after everything they had put each other through the past few weeks. Besides, it wasn't as simple as that anymore. She too would have to give an apology and hope for him to accept it, and she hated doing that as much as him.

Hermione's ears perked up when the first notes of her favorite scene began to play, and she instinctually brought her attention to the movie.

"Hermione?"

"Shh," she said, not even looking at him as she went back to the couch and retook her seat, her eyes never leaving the screen. "This is my favorite part; we'll talk when it's finished,"

She grabbed a pillow and held it to her, resting her head on it, watching intently. She vaguely registered that Draco had taken a seat next to her about a foot away.

"Sounds like _Romeo and Juliet_," Draco commented the first time a line was spoken.

"That's because it is, now _quiet_."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes with Draco glancing at her every thirty seconds or so, not knowing when the end of the scene was and waiting for Hermione's signal that they could start talking.

"I forgive you," she finally said, breaking the silence, although her eyes were still on the TV in front of her. "I… I know you had only done everything because you care about me enough that you didn't want to see me get hurt. And I know you didn't mean it when you called me… that word. I was just upset and letting my pride get in the way of admitting that I was wrong, and I'm sorry I dragged it out for this long,"

It was quiet again as neither of them said anything, the awkwardness seeping in as Hermione waited for Draco's response.

"See was that so hard?" he joked. "And I'll take it, even though you couldn't even look at me while you did it,"

"You're impossible sometimes," Hermione huffed, turning towards him at last, and she playfully threw the pillow at him.

"We both are, but I think we're okay with that."

Draco took both her hands in his and pulled her so that she was closer to him. Hermione could feel her stomach doing somersaults at their close proximity. Sure, they had been this close before, but this was a different situation, and now he was looking straight at her with his face less than half a foot away.

"So are we good?" he said softly.

"Yeah,"

"Great."

And then his lips were on hers. It felt like an electric shock had jolted into her brain when their lips met, and for a moment Hermione thought her body had shut down. It a second for her to catch up with what was happening, but then her eyes closed, and she began to move her mouth along with his.

Hermione had only kissed one other person in her life, Viktor Krum back in her fourth year and that summer when he had visited her. She had always thought the second- and last person- she'd kiss would be Ron. She had been wrong though, and frankly she didn't care.

This was different and unexpected, and not only because it was with Draco Malfoy. She felt heat in a way that she hadn't with Viktor or Ron, and an indescribable feeling consumed her, overriding all her other senses.

Draco had been tentative at first, but her response had led him to take her to a level of fierceness she had never been to before. He was still holding her hands, but he released them as his trailed a quick path up her arms and into her hair, tangling his fingers in it, and bringing her in closer, eliciting a moan from each of them. Hermione then rested her hands on his thighs, squeezing them as his tongue plunged into her mouth. Draco's hands left her hair and went to her waist to bring her onto his lap. The movement took them off balance though, and they found themselves falling back onto the side of the couch, with Hermione landing on top of Draco's chest with a grunt.

It was then that they broke apart, their foreheads resting against each other, and noses touching. Draco held Hermione's gaze with his as they both gasped for breath, and he lifted his hand to push some of her hair behind her ear.

Hermione was the first to move, bringing herself back up into a seating position, with Draco following after her. She was still trying to catch her breath, and she was sure her face was hot as a fire, and as red as a strawberry.

"I think I've wanted to do that since the day we had our water fight," Draco chuckled before kissing her softly once again, affectively taking away any awkwardness that may have settled in, and Hermione gave a laugh in return. She swung her legs from around him so that she was no longer straddling him, and sat so she was once again facing the TV, which was still playing the movie. Draco pulled her closer so that she was leaning against him and put his arm around her.

"If that door isn't unlocked I'm going to have to question Pansy's definition of making up," Hermione joked.

"I can go try it out if you want,"

"No, let's just start the movie over and watch it together,"

"You don't want to watch it with Pansy?"

"I can watch it with her later. This is one movie I don't mind watching over and over again,"

"So this is supposed to be _Romeo and Juliet_? The setting doesn't seem very classic Shakespearean,"

"Yes, a modern version with Leonardo Dicaprio," Hermione said a little too dreamily, something that Draco didn't miss.

"I'm not sure I want to watch it if you're going to be drooling over someone the whole time," he said.

"You'll like it, I promise," Hermione said as she snuggled in closer to his side, but her head quickly turned towards him with a look of confusion when she realized something.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you know about movies?"


End file.
